The Fanboy and the Companions
by Nidhogg453
Summary: Follow Ugdulub, an unusually small and weedy orc, in his adventures in the companions. He will face Draugr, Spiders, Bandits, Ghosts, more Draugr, human interaction, and more it this tale from Skyrim. Side story to The Warlord and the Dragonborn.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"And then Ysgramor rose his mighty battle axe Wuuthrad and decapitated the elf king," the visitor said, ending his tale of adventures and heroism. I had always liked stories of past battles, but this tale of the companions had a new effect entirely. The visitor was a friend of my father, the orc chieftain of Galrag. I am Udgulub, the first born son, and the runt of the litter.

I was but a child when my father's friend told me this story, but ever since the Companions held my interest. I would take every opportunity to buy books about their adventures. As I spent my time reading, my younger brothers trained. Even when I did put the book down and attempted to emulate these heroes of old, I just could not keep up with my siblings.

The day before my coming of age ceremony, where I would be eligible to challenge my father for the role of chieftain, my brothers cornered me. They took my books and burned them while they held me down. They threw me out of Galrag, I suspect they even faked my death so that I would not be missed.

Broken and alone, I searched for shelter. In a cave I made a resolution, I would become a Companion, become stronger, make friends, and forge my own tale. In the back of that cave I etched a message to my brothers, if they ever found that cave. I thanked them for the opportunity to make my dreams come true. The next day I set off for Skyrim.

Doing odd jobs on the trip, let me get supplies and new tales from the companions. I learned of the twins Vilkas and Farkas, who had the intelligence and strength of Ysgramor respectively. I heard of experienced Skjor and his many tales spanning back through the years. Of the fierce Aela, who became known for her strength with a bow. And finally tales of the heroic, Kodlak Whitemane reached me, I was in awe of this heroic visage of a Nord.

After months of travel, the day finally came when I made it to the center of Whiterun. Then I saw it. A giant! Farkas, Aela, and some other warriors were battling it. Off to the side, observing the fight, was a man in iron armor. After the fight, I tried to catch up to the warriors, Aela seemed very angry so I approached Farkas. When he brushed off my question I was left with some warriors I mistook for companions, one of which was the one who stood off to the side. They were Raddin and Govegein. I'm sure that you have heard of them, or at least of some of their exploits.

They were not eager to be accompanied by a scrawny little excuse for an orc. For the first few days, I was set aside, doing menial tasks. They were nice enough, they had given me a suit of steel armor and a war hammer, but they left me to cut wood while they delved into a barrow. Govegein told me to do it in my armor so that I could build up some muscle, but I could tell that he just didn't want me in his way. After they got back, Govegein did help me fulfill a hasty promise I made to a shopkeeper in exchange for the reward.

His opinion of me changed after the dragon incident.

Govegein had me working on some confounded piece of armor, there were so many flaws in his plans I had to completely rework the design. Out of nowhere he left, chasing some woman. Soon after, Raddin flew by followed by a troop of guards. With the armor done, I went to see what the commotion was about and if I could help. I followed the group, and noticed Govegein on the side of the road. The woman was running away in the distance. I told Govegein what seemed to be happening and he joined us.

Raddin lead us to an old watchtower. The thing was in ruins, and on fire. When we began to search the ruined tower, the dragon attacked. Its scales were white as the snowy peaks, but its breath was as hot as the sun. After showing my ineptitude with a bow, Govegein recommended that I attack it if it lands. It did.

I took my Warhammer and smashed the joints in the dragon's wing. I didn't relent, the dragon's cries of pain only fueled me. I'm still surprised that I lifted that hammer so many times. I was the runt of the litter, a stain on the tapestry of Orismer warriors. I had no place on the battle field.

So I made one.

As the beast dissolved to ashes, I realized what I had done. Before it died, I had crippled it. I actually helped in a fight. With new enthusiasm I helped Raddin back into Whiterun. Govegein's congratulatory remarks pushed me towards Jorrvaskr. The companions could not refuse my entry. I believed that I was ready.

I was wrong.

* * *

**So: update for this. Some things just seemed off as I reread this, so I fixed what I saw.**

**I am going to actually try to give some new chapters this time, but I am sure the perceptive ones of you can guess about where this will end up.**


	2. Shortcomings

_**I guess the story you are more interested in hearing started when I tried to join the Companions. Or at least my second attempt. I will admit that neither went as I had envisioned in my head.**_

Chapter 1- Shortcomings

Vilkas stared at the newcomer as Kodlak burst into laughter. Ugdulub's face flushed with embarrassment. He stood in the basement of Jorrvaskr in ill-fitting steel armor carrying a Warhammer that he should in no way be able to lift in a fight. As Kodlak's laugher began to die down, he said, between gasps for air, "Alright, I think that you may have some potential."

"Master, you can't be serious," Vilkas said.

Kodlak quickly grew more serious. "I am nobody's master, Vilkas. And last I checked we have some empty beds here. If he wants to be a Companion, then so be it. The boy will just have to grow quickly and survive."

"Just look at him," Vilkas practically growled. "He will have to grow quickly just to survive. Anything less and he will find himself in some wandering Troll's belly."

"Then, why don't you test him? I'm sure that you will see his potential soon enough," Kodlak said. Vilkas scoffed as he led Ugdulub away.

Behind the mead hall was a small training area. Training dummies and archery targets lined the walls. In the center of the small courtyard, Vilkas stopped and turned to look at the orc. "Kodlak seems set on letting you join, but I am not convinced that you can even hold that hammer of yours."

"I just came back from helping to kill a Dragon!" Ugdulub argued.

"Even if there was a Dragon to be killed, anyone can say that they killed it," Vilkas began. "Let's say that there was and that you were there, it still doesn't mean that it wouldn't have been killed without what little help you provided."

"Then try me." Ugdulub pulled the hammer from his back. It was heavier than he remembered, he could just barely keep it in the air. Vilkas rose his shield, ready to take any attack. Ugdulub rose the hammer behind him and hoped that momentum could make this convincing. He swung the hammer into Vilkas's shield, but the Nord did not even budge. Ugdulub swung again and again, Vilkas would not be moved. The orc swung until he could not swing anymore, which lasted him until the sun began to set. By the time they ended, a small crowd had gathered to watch the scene.

"Impressive, even holding the hammer taxed you beyond your limits. Yet you have an uncanny amount of endurance." Ugdulub dropped the hammer, panting. "You might be able to last a week. Take my sword to Eorlund at the forge to have it sharpened." Vilkas dropped the sword at Ugdulub's feet as he walked away. Ugdulub fumbled for his hammer, tripping over the sword. The crowd dispersed as Ugdulub picked himself up off of the ground.

Heaving the hammer onto his back, Ugdulub picked up Vilkas's sword and began to trudge to the forge. He had heard about the Skyforge in some of the legends about the Companions, they say that a skilled smithy could forge steel stronger than any other metal in those fires. Also that the fires were fueled by the souls of heroes of old, which seemed unlikely. Ugdulub was exhausted as he reached the stairs leading to the forge, his morning of dragon fighting and afternoon of endless swinging had worn him out like nothing before. He walked up the steps, thinking back to what Vilkas said.

Was what he did really that impressive? He always figured that as long as he really tried, he could accomplish anything. Most of his days back at the stronghold were spent studying the works of the forge and reading about the Companions. When he did train with this brothers Ugdulub was tossed around like a wolf being beaten by several bears. Although he never really got hurt from that, sure a broken limb here or there, but he could distract himself from the pain easily enough.

About halfway up the stairway, Ugdulub noticed Eorlund leaving. "Wait," he said. "Vilkas asked me to give this to you for sharpening."

"Ah, you are the new recruit I take it?" Eorlund asked taking the sword. "I saw your display down there." Ugdulub laughed dryly. "You know, in the Companions no one is anyone else's master. You don't have to take orders. That said, would you mind taking this to Aela for me?" The smith held out a shield he had been carrying.

Ugdulub laughed genuinely this time. "Did you not just tell me to not take orders?"

"This is not an order," the old man shrugged, "this is a man asking a favor. It is late and my wife is grieving, I don't like leaving her alone for too long." Ugdulub smiled and took the shield. "I hear Orcs are taught blacksmithing practically from birth," Eorlund said as the two began to descend the stairs.

"Most are, me I have little actual experience, but in theory I am pretty good," Ugdulub said.

"Well theory is worth little around here," Eorlund said. "Sometime you should meet me at the forge and we can put that 'theory' of yours to the test." Eorlund left after that disappearing into the city, Ugdulub entered Jorrvaskr to look for Aela.

Searching in the basement, Ugdulub found Aela with Skjor in her private quarters. Ugdulub's mind began to race with assumptions as he heard Skjor's voice from her room. Realizing that Skjor was talking about some kind of call that he heard quieted most of those assumptions for now. It was fairly clear that Skjor was the closest to Aela out of anyone in the Companions. "Wait," Aela said. "What is he doing here?" She darted out of the room faster that Ugdulub thought that she could, and ran towards him. Startled, Ugdulub rose the shield he had been carrying in defense. Aela ran past him, searching the hallway. She sniffed the air and looked at Ugdulub. Darting towards him, she grabbed at his waist and pulled something out. A scroll unrolled in her hands, it was Govegein's schematics. Ugdulub actually forgot that he had that. Aela crumpled the paper in her hands and threw it into a nearby torch then looked at Ugdulub like this was her first time noticing him. "Who are you?"

"H-hi, I'm Ugdulub, the new recruit. Eorlund asked me to give this to you," Ugdulub held the shield out. _She smelt him on a paper he barley even held? Why would Govegein ever risk getting her angry?_

Aela grinned as she took her shield. "Oh, I heard about you. Didn't you give Vilkas quite the thrashing?"

"Don't let Vilkas hear you saying that." Skjor said from behind Ugdulub. "Has anyone shown you to the sleeping area yet?" When Ugdulub shook his head, Skjor said "Farkas," raising his voice only a little.

The mountain of a Nord lumbered out of his room. "I heard ya, you don't have to shout," Farkas said. _But he didn't shout._

"Calm down, Ice-for-brains," Aela said, "We need you to show the new meat to his room." She stepped back revealing Ugdulub to the Nord. She and Skjor returned to Alela's room to continue their earlier conversation.

"Oh, hello. I'm Farkas, we met before right? After that fight with the giant a couple a days ago, yeah I remember you now. Looks like you made it through Kodlak's 'take in anyone' policy, or at least that's what Vilkas calls it." Farkas began to walk away. He waved his hand and said, "Come, follow me." AS they walked down the long hallway below Jorvaskr, Farkas began talking about life in the Companions. "Skjor and Aela like to tease me, but they're good people. They challenge us to be out best. Nice to have a new face around, though, gets boring sometimes. I hope we keep you, this can be a rough life. Just try not to leave us so soon and make some good tales before you go."

They reached the end of the hallway. "The quarters are up here," Farkas said gesturing with his hand. "Just pick a bed and fall in it when you're tired. Tilma will keep the place clean, she always has." Ugdulub walked into the room and looked around. He saw two of the warriors from the fight with the giant talking to each other on one side of the room. On the other a few more warriors were still finishing off a barrel of mead that they presumably took from the mead hall upstairs. All of the conversations stopped when Ugdulub walked into the room. "Alright so here you are, looks like the others are eager to meet you. Come to me or Aela if you're looking for work. Once you've made a bit of a name for yourself, Skjor or Vilkas may have things for you to do. Good luck and welcome to the Companions." Ugdulub turned around to see Farkas making his way back down the hallway towards his own room.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a new chew toy," one of the warriors said. She wore hide armor and held a shield even inside Jorvaskr.

"Njada, don't scare the new guy. We were all in his shoes at one point or another," another warrior said. A Dark Elf who also wore hide armor.

"What being built like a twig, Athis? Or are you still sore from me knocking you on to the ground too much?" Njada mocked.

"I'm sure he'll do fine once we get some muscle on him," a Nord in leather armor said. "What do you think Ria?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm just glad that I'm not the newest anymore," the Imperial woman said.

"Well that may not be for long, even if we do like Torvir said and bulk him up." Njada said.

"I don't know, did you see his session with Vilkas? It lasted all afternoon with the new guy swinging that hammer around like a madman." Torvir said.

"Uh, i-it's nice to meet you all and I would like to get to know you since we will be together for a while, but I am exhausted and want to sleep." Ugdulub said.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Ria said. "We don't do much sleeping here."

"Oh no," Ugdulub sighed.

"Especially not when we have some new meat," Njada said.

"Oh no."

"I'm going to get another keg, this is going to be an all-nighter," Torvir said.

"Oh no."

"It's initiation night tonight!" Athis shouted.

* * *

**Well, that was something. Ignoring broken bones is nothing to sneeze about, nor is hazing. DON'T DO IT PEOPLE. Just in case you needed to be told. Anyway, Ugdulub finally starts his journey. Where will it take him? Who will he meet? Why is Aela a bloodhound? Other questions that you may or may not have?**


	3. First Job

_I really would rather we skip that night. Let's just say mistakes were made by everyone and I don't like to eat cows anymore._

Chapter 2- First Job

"Farkas, I-I'm ready for my first j-job," Ugdulub stuttered. He was still shaking off what happened the night before.

Farkas was sitting in the mead hall near the doors. "Are you sure?" he asked. He heard most of what happened that night. "You don't look quite up for the task I have." Ugdulub was barely standing, he swayed on his feet and had deep bags under his eyes.

"I can do it . . . maybe . . . after a quick nap." Ugdulub collapsed right there and fell asleep. Farkas stepped over the slumbering orc and went to the back to train.

* * *

"Farkas, I'm ready for my first job," Ugdulub said. He woke up in the mead hall after a few hours of sleep. He found Farkas outside breaking through stone training dummies with his greatsword.

"Well, at least you're rested now," Farkas said. "Someone in town has been making some trouble, you get to put a stop to it. No killing, just get him to apologize and your job is done."

"Okay, who is it?"

"Uh," Farkas said, scratching his chin. "I think it was that guy from Warmaiden's. Ulfberth or something."

Ugdulub remembered the large man who minded Adrienne's shop for her. He looked like he could snap the small orc like a twig. Ulfberth also was not the most friendly or understanding of characters. "Are you sure that I'm the right guy for this job?" Ugdulub asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Farkas said.

Ugdulub sighed as he walked away. He mused over how to handle this incident as he descended the stairs towards the Plains District of the city. The last thing Ugdulub wanted to do was get into a fight with the man, but that was the quickest way to get a Nord to apologize. He could always try to fix whatever happened, but if Ulfberth was not angry at something and just offended someone there was nothing he could do. Ugdulub walked into Warmaiden's to see Ulfberth War-Bear behind the counter as usual.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"Uh, hello. I'm from the Companions and we got a request to, ah, convince you to stop causing trouble." Ugdulub said. His knees began to shake as Ulberth's brow furrowed.

"Trouble? If anyone is causing trouble it's that reject Companion, Uthgerd." Ulfberth stepped out from behind the counter. "She's the one badmouthing everyone. All she does is hang around the Bannered Mare, beat people half to death, and insult anyone nearby." Ulfberth was practically shouting now as he walked up to the small orc.

"Okay, I'll go and talk to her, but please just calm down," Ugdulub said backing out of the store.

"Are you okay?" Adrienne asked. She was standing by the door. "I heard Ulfberth shouting from out here, he isn't usually like that with customers."

"I-I'll be fine. I just need to see to something," Ugdulub said, walking away. So Ulberth did have a reason for whatever he did. It would seem that Uthgerd the Unbroken is at the root of this problem, but she can be even less agreeable than Ulfberth, judging by the stories about her. She was in the Companions at one time, that is until the killed another member in a fight. After that she was kicked out, apparently she still spends her time in Whiterun.

Ugdulub walked into the Bannered Mare, it was quiet. Which is to be expected in the middle of the day. The owner of the inn, Hulda, was behind the bar, cleaning mugs. A bard sat by the fire, tuning his lute, and someone was cooking in the kitchen area. In the back of the room sat Uthgerd with a mug of mead.

"Hello, ma'am," Ugdulub said, walking up to the Nord.

"Hey, you're that new recruit in the Companions aren't you?" Uthgerd asked, jabbing her finger at Ugdulub. "They keep letting in these people who look like they can barely hold a sword. No wonder they die so easily." She put down the mug and stood up. "Come 'ere. I'll bet that you couldn't even take one punch." Uthgerd took a swing at Ugdulub, but he backed away, dodging the punch. "How can I test ya, if I can't hit ya?"

The door of the Bannered Mare burst open. "Uthgerd, you and I are going to have a big problem." It was Ulfberth. "Oh, good, you're here to, orc. Adrienne kicked me out after you provoked me."

"You still going on about that Imperial broad?" Uthgerd asked.

Ulfberth ran across the room, stepped onto a bench by the bonfire, and jumped off to land a punch on Uthgerd. "You shut your mouth, you hagraven."

"Ooh, now this is getting fun." Uthgerd shook off the blow and returned with an uppercut into Ulfberth's gut.

"Wait, wait stop," Ugdulub tried to break up the fight, but both combatants turned on him.

"Don't think I forgot about ya," Uthgerd said as she swung at Ugdulub again.

"It's your fault I'm here in the first place," Ulfberth shouted, grabbing Ugdulub and throwing him into the bar.

"By Mauloch's teeth," Ugdulub spat as he picked himself up. The two Nords had returned to their fight. "Excuse me, Hulda," the orc said as he stood up on the bar. Ugdulub ran across the bar, towards the fight and tackled the fighters. The three warriors rolled about on the ground as they fought, each of them trying to get the upper hand. Ugdulub was able to wriggle away and stand up. He grabbed the chair that Uthgerd was sitting on and smashed it on Ulfberth's back. Uthgerd crawled out from under him and charged Ugdulub. The orc smacked her in the face with the remains of the chair. "I'll pay for the chair later," Ugdulub said over his shoulder to Hulda. "Now have you two calmed down enough to talk?"

"Fine," Ulfberth said, rubbing his back.

"Heh, that was fun," Uthgerd said.

"Now what is this all about?" Ugdulub asked.

"Ulfberth here got pissed last night after a night of drinking. That's all I know," Uthgerd said.

"All you know? You said that Adrienne had no business at the forge and that an Imperial like her should just go back to Cyrodiil and be a maid for some High Elf," Ulfberth shouted.

"I didn't say that," Uthgerd defended.

"No, you were more colorful with your wording."

"You're just sore because you're in love with that Imperial, but you're too chicken to tell her," Uthgerd said.

"You should learn when to shut up. Anyway, that's why I tore off the door of her house. And broke a few of her walls. And some furniture," Ulfberth said.

"My house isn't torn up." Uthgerd said.

"What?"

"My house is," a voice said from the doorway. An old woman stood there, it was Olava the Feeble. "Late last night, this hooligan destroyed my home. Luckily I was away, meeting with an old friend."

"You attacked the wrong house?" Ugdulub asked, turning to Ulfberth.

"A lot of the houses here look similar," Ulfberth said.

Uthgerd began to laugh, "Our houses aren't even close to each other you dolt."

"I'm sorry Olava, I must have been to drunk last night to realize what I was doing. I thought that it was Uthgerd's house."

"That does not make what you did okay," Olava said. "Nor does it fix my house."

"I am so sorry, I will get right on that, just let me garb some tools from Warmaiden's," Ulfberth said. "Uthgerd come on, you are helping."

"What? Why?"

"You started this."

"It'll get done faster with three people," Ugdulub said.

"Thank you boy, but you don't have to. I saw how you fought and I think that you have helped this old woman more than enough," Olava said. "I'm also not paying you extra for it even if you do help."

"Oh, okay then," Ugdulub left the Bannered Mare. Considering what happened, he felt pretty good. He not only survived, but won a bar fight with two Nords. Not to mention clearing up a misunderstanding. As he circled the Gildergreen Tree, Ugdulub overheard someone asking about the Grey-Mane's cow. The mention of the cow brought back memories of the night before, Ugdulub hoped that the cow was not dead.

As he entered Jorvaskr, Ugdulub was greeted by Ria and Njada who were sitting at the table. "What happened to you?" Ria asked.

"He probably just fell down the stairs," Njada said.

"A bar fight actually," Ugdulub said. Only now did he actually notice that he was covered in bruises and minor cuts. "It was actually kind of fun."

"And you didn't invite us?" Njada asked with mock surprise.

Ugdulub sighed, "I'm just going to go get my pay from Farkas." He walked away to search for the Nord.

* * *

**Bar fights, romance, and racism, what more can you ask for in a first job? Well good pay I guess, but that's beside the point.**

**Second chapter down, and probably the last repeatable-side-mission-turned-story I'm going to try to do. We'll see how the Thieves Guild turns out (they are the kings and/or queens of repeatable side missions).**


	4. Time of Proving

Yeah, after that I was stuck doing odd jobs around the area. Settle disputes, kill some animals, find lost pets, just the basic everyday things that get pushed to the wayside. After a bit of that, I got my first real quest from the companions.

Chapter 3- Time of Proving

Ugdulub pulled himself out of his bed, the hall was dark, not even Tilma was around to light the fires. Every morning had begun like this for Ugdulub recently, something seemed to wake him before the others. A dream, maybe? He could never remember, he just felt like someone was angry with him. Ugdulub donned his armor and left Jorvaskr for the Skyforge. From a small alcove he had found, Ugdulub pulled out some papers that he left there. Every morning, as the sun rose, Ugdulub would refine his plans for several pieces of armor and research several styles to incorporate into the new armor. From his perch by the forge, Ugdulub could see when Eorlund began to make his way towards Jorvaskr. By the time Eorlund climbed up to the Skyforge, Ugdulub had put the plans away and was in the training area with his war hammer.

As Ugdulub practiced with the hammer, he noticed Farkas emerging from Jorvaskr. "Morning Farkas," he said. "Any new jobs for me today?"

Farkas yawned before dropping down to the ground. "I think Skjor wanted to talk to you today," he said as he began a set of pushups.

A grin grew on Ugdulub's face as he ran inside Jorvaskr. He was greeted by the usual feast and a few of the Companions eating. He decided to sit down and eat some of the food, better to go on the job with a full stomach. Ugdulub sat on one of the side tables, so he could watch the exit from the sleeping quarters for Skjor.

About halfway through the meal, Skjor rose up the steps and scanned the room. Spotting Ugdulub, he said, "You, Orc, come here."

Ugdulub ran across the room to Skjor. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," he said walking towards the feast. "Your time has come. Or at least that is what Kodlak says."

"What do you mean?" Ugdulub asked.

"Last week a scholar came to us," Skjor said, ignoring the question and piling food onto a plate. "He said he knew where we could find another fragment of Wouthrad." Ugdulub glanced at the broken battle axe that hung behind him. "He seemed a fool to me, but if he's right, the honor of the Companions demands we seek it out."

"Please tell me you're sending me to get it," Ugdulub said. "It would be an honor to retrieve a fragment of such a famed weapon." He could barely contain his excitement.

"Yes, I'm sending you. The time is right for it to be your trial. We are sending you to retrieve the fragment, but not alone," Skjor replied. Then under his breath, "You'd probably just get yourself killed by a passing mudcrab." Skjor moved over to a bench in the corner of the mead hall and said, "Farkas will be your Shield Sibling on this venture, whelp. Carry yourself with honor and you will become a full-fledged member of the Companions."

"I hope you've readied yourself," a voice said, surprising Ugdulub. He spun around to see Farkas coming in from his morning workout. "I overheard that we will be working together on this next mission. Let's see if you impress."

"Don't get your hopes up," Skjor said.

"I'll meet you at Dustman's Cairn," Ugdulub said as he left Jorvaskr.

* * *

Dustman's Cairn was in the plains to the northwest of Whiterun. From the surface, it appeared to be little more than a mound with a large hole at the top. If one were to approach the hole, however, they would notice the stairs that lead inside the mound and the door that lead to the underground cairn. When Ugdulub approached the cairn, he noticed Farkas standing at the top of these stairs. "How did you get here before me? I left Whiterun before you, sure at a leisurely pace, but you still should not have beaten me here." Ugdulub said.

"I'm faster than you thought apparently," Farkas said simply. "Come on, let's get into the cairn." Farkas jumped down into the mound and crossed to the door. Ugdulub followed, taking the stairs.

They entered to find an old, ruined entry room. There was a doorway across from the entryway and the doors that would have barred further entrance were buried beneath rubble. The rubble had been mostly dug out, Ugdulub and Farkas were not the first people here. Ugdulub moved forward and peeked into the next room. It was the standard burial room, most bodies lying in alcove that were dug into the walls. Some bodies, probably higher ranking soldiers, stood at the corners of the walls that turned the room into something more like a maze of hallways.

Farkas stepped into the room, great sword drawn, watching for movement. When nothing moved, he said, "Clear." Ugdulub tentatively followed, watching the corpses. One of the corner corpses opened its eyes to reveal the blue glow of a Draugr. It, and several others, pulled themselves out of their burial spots and drew their weapons. The lead Draugr swung at Farkas with its sword. Farkas blocked with his great sword and knocked the blade out of the Draugr's hand. The Draugr looked at Farkas, then at its sword on the ground, as if it did not understand what happened. Farkas cut of the Draugr's head as it looked back at him.

Ugdulub was fending off two Draugr, one with a sword and the other throwing ice at him. Ugdulub shoved past the first Draugr to bury his hammer in the caster's chest. Ugdulub tore apart the caster's ribcage and turned back to the other Draugr, frost coating his armor. The Draugr barely had time to raise its sword as Ugdulub bashed its face in with the top of his hammer. When he turned around to help Farkas, he saw that the rest of the Draugr had fallen to his blade.

"Strange, they don't usually fight like this," Farkas said as he walked deeper into the cairn.

"How so?" Ugdulub asked, following.

"The hostile Draugr are usually from Dragon Cults, but I don't think that these ones were," Farkas said.

"Aren't all Draugr a part of the Dragon Cult?"

"Not necessarily," Farkas said.

"Maybe they just don't like Orismer," Ugdulub said.

"That could be it," Farkas said with a shocked expression. "Why didn't I think of that? They were probably killed in battles with Orcs."

"Do you know a lot about Draugr?" Ugdulub asked.

"A little, legends of Nordic history always amazed me. I have great respect for the warriors of old," Farkas replied. "Although, I have trouble with most other things that are found in books," he laughed.

"You should talk to Govegein, the warrior that didn't fight the giant when we met," Ugdulub said. "Raddin, the other one, told me that he knows a lot about that subject, if you're interested in some old stories and can get him to talk."

They found themselves in a larger round room. The path forward was barred by a gate. Ugdulub saw a lever in a side room and walked towards it as Farkas examined the larger room. Ugdulub pulled the lever and heard two gates moving. When he turned around, he saw that there was now a closed gate, locking him inside the smaller room.

"Now look what you've gotten yourself into," Farkas said, disappointed. "No worries. Just sit tight, I'll find the release." As he stopped talking, a group of bandits ran out of the unblocked hallway and surrounded Farkas. There was something weird about these bandits, their weapons were made out of silver rather than iron or steel, and their armor looked like wolf hide, but was too thick. "What was that?" Farkas asked as he turned.

"It's time to die, dog," one of the bandits said.

"We knew you'd be coming here," another said.

"Your mistake, Companion," a third said.

"Which one is that?" a woman asked.

"Doesn't matter, he wears that armor he dies," the first one said. The bandits closed in on Farkas.

"It's just standard steel armor," Ugdulub muttered.

"Killing you will make for an excellent story," the woman said.

Farkas seemed to smile, "None of you will be alive to tell it." He dropped his sword and almost seemed to grow. No, he was growing, larger and hairier. Fur sprouted on Farkas's body as his armor fell off, apparently built with this in mind. Farkas grew and grew, roughly twice the size of the massive Nord he was. With a feral snarl, he tore the bandits apart easily. Ugdulub was equally horrified and amazed at the scene before him. When the beast was done with its work, it trotted over to the release lever. Farkas walked back into the room and picked up his armor. "I hope I didn't scare ya."

"What was that?" Ugdulub asked.

"It's a blessing given to some of us. We can be like wild beasts. Fearsome," he replied.

Ugdulub gasped, "You're going to make me a werewolf?"

"Oh, no," Farkas laughed. "Only the Circle can have beastblood. I think that may not be in your immediate future. 'Eyes on the prey, not the horizon'. We should keep moving. Still the Draugr to worry about."

"What about them?" Ugdulub asked, gesturing towards the pieces of people left over.

"The Silverhand. Werewolf hunters," Farkas said. "They've been at odds with the Companions in secret for years."

The two warriors moved through the newly opened pathway. At the end of the hall, they saw a group of Silverhand loitering. "I guess that they were not alone," Ugdulub said, grabbing his hammer.

"I guess not," Farkas said, readying his great sword. With a battle cry, the two charged the group of hunters.

* * *

**Werewolves!**

**If you're not one, be one. Anyway, chapter 3 and the beginning of the main Companion quests. **

**Farkas may not be as dumb as everyone thinks. Still not very smart, but not quite stupid either, just . . . slow.**

**And what's up with Ugdulub's morning routine? Not Vermina, for those who think they can draw lines to things that don't exist. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.**

**Feel free to review.**


	5. The Inner Crypt

**_Whew, that was a long bathroom break. Where was I again? Oh, right I was looking for a part of Wuuthrad in Dustman's Cairn with Farkas. I'm still rather proud of how that story ended._**

Chapter 4 – The Inner Crypt

"So the Silverhand just hate you for being Werewolves?" Ugdulub asked, stepping over a corpse of one of the aforementioned hunters. "They don't even care about the good you do with the beastblood?"

"That's just it," Farkas explained. "Because of the beastblood, that is all they see us as. Beasts, like many who obtain the beastblood and cannot handle the strain it puts on the body." He looked into the campfire that some of the Silverhand had built in the room. They were in a long room with rubble all over the floor and had just finished clearing out the Silverhand from this part of the ruins. "Let's move on."

Deeper inside the ruins, the pair found themselves on a caged bridge spanning over a large room. Beneath them, they heard the sounds of a fight, looking over the bridge they saw maybe twenty Silverhand warriors fighting off a horde of Draugr. They were outnumbered but the Draugr were outmatched. Ugdulub could tell, though, that whichever side won would come out with many casualties, but they would still be trying to kill the two Companions.

"We should get ready for them," Farkas said, drawing his greatsword. They moved on, into a descending hallway. The walls were lined with grave holes, and in them slept the Draugr. Farkas motioned for Ugdulub to follow his lead as he crept up to one of the motionless bodies and quickly severed its head. They continued like that, sneaking up on the sleeping undead and decapitating them before they could wake, until they heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the far end of the passage.

A group of Silverhand rounded the corner to see the two companions. The Silverhand had roughly halved in size, but they were still going to be a problem for Farkas and Ugdulub to handle alone. The Silverhand shouted and charged, but that only woke the remaining Draugr. Most of the Silverhand were tackled by the animated corpses as they arose from their slumber. Now the fight could start for real, two Companions against a squad of Silverhand fighting with a score of Draugr.

The first of the Silverhand to charge had actually made it to the waiting Companions before his allies were picked off. The swung his silver sword in a wide arc which Farkas parried with his greatsword. When Farkas countered with his own blow, it was blocked by the hunter's shield. Farkas however, powered through, breaking the warrior's guard. Then Ugdulub noticed a plodding sound behind them, they had missed one of the Draugr. The thing charged Farkas from behind, a battleaxe raised high above its head, when Ugdulub stepped between them.

"I will defend your back, shield brother," Ugdulub said as the bashed away the oncoming axe. He crouched and shattered the Draugr's legs with his hammer before turning with Farkas to do the same to the Silverhand. Farkas had jarred the Silverhand with a punch and then turned to finish the falling Draugr. Disoriented and off balance, the Silverhand warrior had no way of defending against Ugdulub's onslaught. By the time the duo finished with their adversaries, the others had realized their common enemies. Too little too late, the Draugr had already killed many of the remaining Silverhand, who had wiped out most of the Draugr in return. The few who were left were easily dispatched by the Nord and the Orc.

"I'd bet that that was the last of the Silverhand that came here," Farkas said as they moved on. Before they left the passage, Ugdulub noticed a small chest wedged into one of the graves. Quickly pulling it out and opening it, he found a scroll. Ugdulub knew nothing about scrolls or the spells that they held, so he just wedged it into his belt in case he ever needed whatever was within it. Looking up he saw that Farkas was about to leave the passage and Ugdulub ran to catch up.

Stepping over the countless corpses Farkas found that their path onward was blocked by a locked door. He began to hit it in hopes that the wood had rotted enough for him to break the door down. If Farkas could have called on his beastblood again, he could have broken the door down easily, but it refused to heed his call again this day. Ugdulub searched a nearby chest and found the key. Tossing it to Farkas proved that it was the key to the door and they were able to move on.

The next room was infested with skeevers that ran away at the first sign of movement. It held some Draugr, held within binds that would prevent them from moving if they could, but these were already dead. Next to the door deeper into the ruin was an alchemy lab, Farkas knew little in the ways of alchemy and Ugdulub had never had the same kind of skill others in the stronghold had. They heard movement behind the doors next to the lab.

Farkas drew his sword as Ugdulub cautiously opened the door. A large frostbite spider leapt out, over the orc and onto Farkas, knocking him down. Farkas screamed as the venom began to drip from the spider's gaping maw. Ugdulub swatted the spider off of Farkas with his hammer and crushed the beast inside it carapace.

"Are you okay Farkas?" Ugdulub asked.

"Y-yes. Just startled is all," Farkas replied. "Didn't expect it to jump like that." They moved on, past the alchemy lab and into the following hallway. The pathway deeper into the crypt was caved in, but another pathway seemed to have been opened. It was little more than a crevice in the wall. Ugdulub walked through it just fine, but Farkas had a little trouble squeezing through.

On the other side of the crevice Ugdulub found what he suspected to be the place the spider from earlier came from. The walls were covered in webbing and open and closed spider egg cases dotted the area. Three spiders waited, each one smaller than the first one, watching the newcomers. Without warning, Ugdulub shot out and crushed one as the other two scuttled away. One of them turned and shot venom at Ugdulub, who narrowly dodged and then sprinted to the spider. When he reached it, Ugdulub gave it a swift kick in its face and it crumpled. He then turned to the final one, which had just reached a wall. As it began to climb up, Ugdulub threw his hammer at it, crushing the spider on the wall.

As the hammer left Ugdulub's hand, he heard a yelp. Turning he saw Farkas with an even larger spider than the first on top of him. Farkas was panicking, he couldn't get his sword into a decent angle to stab the spider with. Ugdulub ran to his hammer as Farkas yelled again. Turning back, Ugdulub noticed the cavern extended back into the ruins and had two strong looking Draugr guards. Ugdulub ran to Farkas and swung with his hammer, knocking the spider towards the Draugr. Noticing the movement the guards became animated and attacked the spider.

Farkas pulled himself together and began cleaning spider webs off of his armor. "Are you sure you're okay?" Ugdulub asked again. Arrows pelted the spider.

"Yes, that one was hiding above the crevice. Thank you for saving me, twice now I guess," Farkas replied. The spider ate one of the Draugr before taking an arrow through its head, ending the struggle. "We should probably take care of that Wight." Ugdulub nodded and they dashed towards the archer. Farkas speared it through with his sword and Ugdulub tore its head off with his hammer. "The fragment shouldn't be too far ahead."

Farkas was right, once they re-entered the crypt, he and Ugdulub found themselves in a hallway. At the end of the hallway, behind some great double doors, was a large tomb. The walls were lined with sarcophagi, and in the back was a table with several soul gems and potions on it. On the center of the table was a pedestal, on the pedestal was a small piece of metal, the fragment of Wuuthrad the pair had come for.

Ugdulub picked up the piece and the sound of several lids falling to the ground filled the room. Turning Ugdulub saw that every sarcophagus had opened. He and Farkas stood alone against a horde of Draugr. Together they could take out a few before they were overrun, and they did. The two were pushed back, behind the table and into a curved wall of sorts. Ugdulub took the Draugr that came from one side of the table while Farkas took the ones on the other. The two of them were exhausted and the onslaught did not let up.

Ugdulub reached for the scroll he had found earlier. He hoped that he could even use it, let alone that it would be useful here. Opening it only caused it to crumple away to dust, leaving a green light in Ugdulub's hands. Ugdulub grasped at the light as knowledge temporarily flowed into his head. Releasing the light created a wave of energy that shot through the room. As the wave hit the Draugr their joints locked and the corpses lost balance, falling to the ground.

"What did you do?" Farkas shouted.

"I-I found a scroll. I thought it could help in a situation like this," Ugdulub said.

"They're only paralyzed, it'll wear off soon enough," Farkas said. "The Companions don't rely on magic. Partially because Ysgramor didn't partially because we no longer trust it as a form of power." He began decapitating the helpless Draugr. "Listen, I will leave this out of whatever story I tell about today as long as you leave out the spiders." Ugdulub nodded as he began to crush Draugr heads with his hammer.

* * *

Ugdulub and Farkas finally made it back to Jorvaskr as night fell on Whiterun. Ugdulub went straight to the whelp's quarters and slept. No nightmares assailed him, and he awoke feeling proud. He continued to his morning training session but found the members of the inner circle waiting for him in the courtyard.

"Brothers and sisters of the Circle, today we welcome a new soul into our mortal fold," Kodlak began. Ugdulub's face lit up, he had heard about this. "This . . . man had endured, has challenged, and has shown his valor." This was Ugdulub's official acceptance into the companions. "Who will speak for him?"

"I stand witness to the courage of the soul before us," Farkas supplied.

"Would you raise your shield in his defense?" Kodlak asked.

Farkas stood straighter, "I would stand at his back, that the world might never overtake us."

"And would you raise your sword in his honor?"

"It stands ready to meet the blood of his foes."

"And would you raise a mug to his name?"

"I would lead the song of triumph as the mead hall reveled in his stories."

"Then the judgement of this Circle is complete," Kodlak said. "His heart beats with fury and courage that have united the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let it beat with ours that the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the call."

"It shall be so," the members of the circle agreed as the sun dawned on their newest Companion.

* * *

**Hey all, how ya doin. Sorry about not posting for an extended period of time, but stuff happened and I got out of my flow.**

**So now Ugdulub is a full fledged member of the Companions. Yeah! Betcha all saw that one comin.**


	6. Second Job

So, understandably, I spent most of the following day celebrating and retelling the adventure I had just been on. Little did I know, though, that I would just be falling back into the same routine.

Chapter 5 – Second Job

"I'm sorry!" Ugdulub shouted, jolting out of bed. It was dark and he could hear the movement of others. He was in Jorvaskr's general sleeping quarters and had stirred the others. Luckily the Companions were heavy sleepers, none of them had actually woken up, except maybe Farkas. Ugdulub couldn't tell, if he did he just went back to sleep. Ugdulub pulled himself out of bed and out to the courtyard to begin his training. It seemed easier today than before, so he increased the difficulty of the routine. By the time he dragged himself up to the Skyforge, Ugdulub's muscles were screaming at him.

"Oh, there you are," Eorlund said. He was working the forge early this morning. "Kodlak told me that it was time to make you a weapon of Skyforge Steel. I have the metal ready to be shaped right now, so what kind of weapon do you want?"

Ugdulub thought this over, it was no simple choice. His Warhammer had served him well enough these past weeks, so there was no point in replacing it yet. He also noticed how well Farkas used his greatsword and wished for a bladed weapon that was comparable. "How about a battleaxe?" he asked. It would keep very similar movements with his hammer and give him the blade that he lacked.

"Just like Ysgramor himself," Eorlund chuckled. "I'll have it done by nightfall."

Ugdulub gathered some of his plans and left Eorlund to the forge. This particular set would use Malachite and Skyforge Steel in an orcish style. Ugdulub had almost finished the plans, he just needed to place a few finishing touches on the work and it would be ready for forging attempts. When he entered Jorvaskr, however, he found Vilkas waiting for him.

"Ah, there you are," Vilkas said, approaching the orc. "We just got a job and I think that it is just up your alley. One of the town's people was kidnapped by a group of bandits and we were asked to save her. I think this might be just about your skill level, you shouldn't even need a shield sibling on this."

"O-okay," Ugdulub stammered. It was his first real quest that was just for him. Vilkas gave him the details of where the bandits were rumored to be and Ugdulub set off on his adventure.

* * *

The roads to the bandit hideout were anything but perilous. Sure there was the stray wolf pack or two, but they were easily dispatched. That is what Ugdulub was thinking, of course, until he neared the Ritual Stone. He didn't know what it was or that it was even there, but the necromancer didn't care. All the necromancer knew was that some orc was running towards the hill and he had some spare skeletons on hand.

After a soft purple light flashed to the left of Ugdulub's vision, he was tackled to the ground by a pile of bones. Before he could question what had just happened, the pile moved and pulled itself together into a skeleton. Two more skeletons jumped down behind it and a man in black robes stood on a hill behind them. The skeletons charged Ugdulub, clawing at him with their bone hands. Ugdulub knocked one away with his hammer and it fell apart, whatever held them together was obviously weak, and the mage on the hill yelped. He fired a shot of ice at the orcish warrior who sidestepped the spell.

"Enough of this," Ugdulub said and he bashed the two remaining skeletons. "If you want to live," Ugdulub shouted, "just walk away." The necromancer yelped again and disappeared from sight, running away from the ritual stone.

Ugdulub continued down the path until he saw, off in the distance, an ancient Nordic tower. This was where the bandits were set up. From the information given to him by Vilkas, Ugdulub knew that they were charging travelers who pass on the road. He guessed that the mystery kidnaped woman was someone who must have seemed important. As he approached the ruin, Ugdulub began to imagine what kind of person he would be rescuing. Was she important? Rich? Would she reward him for saving her? If so how?

"Hey," a woman barked, snapping Ugdulub out of his daydreams. "This is a toll road. You can pay in gold or with your life."

Ooooh, this is where you say something cool like 'How 'bout I pay with yours'. Ugdulub drew his hammer and the woman dashed towards him, a knife glinting in the sunlight. He bent backwards, moving the steel plate in the path of the bandit's blade. As he bent, he swung the hammer down and broke her neck. As she flew to the ground, Ugdulub shouted, "Argh, I didn't get to say anything cool!" This alerted the other bandits waiting in the tower.

Three bandits, armed more heavily than the first, poured out of the tower. The first one rushed Ugdulub, bashing him with his shield hard enough to nock back the orc. Ugdulub's Warhammer flew out of his hands and tripped the bandit who attacked him. A second bandit, lightly armored, jumped over his companion and tried to decapitate Ugdulub with a battleaxe. Ugdulub rolled away, getting onto his stomach. The orc launched himself forwards and upwards to punch the bandit in the face. The bandit leaned back, but was still clipped in the jaw. He stumbled, dropping his axe as he lost balance. Ugdulub rushed for the axe and tore it through the bandit's chest.

By now, the first bandit had picked himself up with the help of the third. Ugdulub tightened his grip on the stolen weapon and charged the two. The first bandit blocked the blow with his shield, but was staggered from the blow. The other bandit rushed with two swords drawn. Ugdulub stepped into his attack and shouldered him before bringing the butt of his axe into the bandit's stomach. The shielded bandit took this chance to attack again, but was met with the battleaxe's blade spearing his chest. Tearing the axe down through the bandit, Ugdulub brought it up and cleaved the other through the shoulder.

Ugdulub stood in the gore of blood, panting. He dropped the axe and picked up his hammer before entering the tower. Those four seemed to be the only ones stationed here in the first tower. Ugdulub climbed up. If the bandits were any good at being kidnappers, they would have the victim in the back of their base, the most difficult area to get to. Ugdulub stepped outside, onto a ramp scaling the tower, and an arrow whizzed past his head. "Nope."

The orc jogged back down to the sight of slaughter that had happened moments before and grabbed the one bandit's shield. Climbing back up to the ramp, Ugdulub stepped out, this time covering his vitals with the shield. Arrows lodged themselves into the shield as Ugdulub thought that he could get used to carrying it. Ugdulub peeked over the shield to see a strong looking bandit crossing a bridge to the first tower. When he reached the bridge, Ugdulub charged into the approaching bandit, knocking him head first off of the bridge into the shallow river below.

Ugdulub ran on and found the archer blocking his way. He was lean and had an arrow trained at Ugdulub's eye as it peeked over the shield. Ugdulub raised his hands to either side of him, showing that other than the shield, he was unarmed. The lean bowman eyed him, as if waiting for something. Taking a chance, Ugdulub wound back and threw the shield into the archer, knocking the bandit back. The readied arrow flew into the ground as Ugdulub smashed the bandit with his hammer. A man shouted from the floor above and Ugdulub approached to investigate.

"You made me lose my last member, all I had to do was get the drop on this dumb orc," the man said.

"No you did that yourself, you didn't have to listen to me," a woman this time, probably the hostage.

Ugdulub walked up to a strange sight. A woman in black and red clothes sat on a bed roll, hands behind her back and a bag over her head. The bandit chief stood in front of her wearing only pants. As he turned to meet the warrior who killed his bandits, the woman jumped up and wrapped a rope around his neck. Her hands were now unbound, so the rope must have been what had bound them before. She tightened the rope before saying, "Whoever you are, thanks for taking care of the others. It would be a pain leaving with them in the way. And by the way, you owe me one now."

"What?" Ugdulub shouted as the bandit chief dropped. "I was sent to save you from the bandits. If anything you owe me."

The woman released her hold on the corpse and pulled the bag from her face. She was a striking dark elf, but there was something about her eyes that told Ugdulub to stay away. She pulled a hood over her head and said, "It was because of me that this guy," she nudged the corpse with her foot, "didn't kill you. So, yeah, you owe me a favor that will be collected at a random time for a random activity."

"Uuuh," Ugdulub said as the elf scampered away.

* * *

"That was the strangest story of a kidnapping I ever heard," Vilkas said. Ugdulub had walked back to Jorvaskr to inform Vilkas of the completed mission. The Nord almost looked surprised when Ugdulub walked through the doors. "Either way, we got payed. Here's your share." Vilkas tossed a pouch of gold to Ugdulub. "I think Eorlund wanted to see you," he said as he walked away.

Ugdulub walked up to the Skyforge as the sun began to set. The blacksmith sat at his grindstone, sharpening a blade. The forges coals burned hot as Ugdulub put his plans back in their alcove, he had no time today to work on them. Eorlund looked up from his work and said, "Ah, Ugdulub, good to see you. I was just putting the finishing touches on this blade of yours." He stood and turned, holding the blade in his hands. From far away, it looked like a crude blade, shaped in a close to orcish style, but upon closer inspection, Ugdulub found that the steel was stronger and sharper than any others he had seen. Nordic runes lined the blade and orcish fur edged the handle. "I found some of your designs in that hole and peeked at this one. I felt that it might be a good fit for you. I made a few modifications to the design, and took the liberty to add some of my own flare to it, hope you don't mind. It's lighter than most blades of similar make."

Ugdulub took the axe from his hands and checked its weight and balancing. "This is amazing Eorlund, Even better than I imagined it when I drew that up." He stood back and gave it a few testing swings. "Can you teach me? I've been hoping to actually make a few of those designs and really see what the Skyforge can do."

Eorlund crossed his arms, thinking. It seemed that he was not keen on having an inexperienced assistant. "Alright," he said, "In your free time, you can come up here and if I'm not working on something, I can teach you some skills."

"Would you mind starting a little now?" Ugdulub tried. He placed the axe on his back across from his hammer.

"Yeah, we might as well. I don't take any other orders while I was working with the Skyforge steel, so I am free for now. But it is getting dark so only a beginning to the basics okay?"

* * *

**And there we have it. Reysi's fist encounter with Ugdulub. Ugdulub's first axe. And now he even gets to train with Eorlund, the greatest smith in modern Skyrim (not counting our time traveler of course).**

**Okay, so school's starting again for most people. For those who are in it, good luck, and for those who aren't, uh I don know good luck in other things. But not too much good luck so as to take noticeably from Nocturnal. **


	7. The Inner Circle

**Oh, so you've heard about the Dunmer lass. Then I'm sure you know what the favor she asked for was. I'll tell you in a bit, but first is when I was accepted into the Inner Circle of the Companions. This is where the story you're looking for really starts.**

Chapter 6 – The Inner Circle

Ugdulub's routine differed little now that he was accepted by most of the companions. Except for Njada who still demeaned him at every turn. Starting in the early morning he snuck out for his daily training, it had begun showing results, it helped that Orcish puberty hits the mer like a troll thrown by a giant. After his training, Ugdulub made his way to the Skyforge and learned practical smithing with Eorlund. By midday, he was ready to take on any job the inner circle had for him. He took on any job presented to him, from petty disputes to wiping out small bandit dens. One time Vilkas wanted him to take on a 'small' vampire coven off the Haffingar coast, but Ugdulub could tell there was something off about that quest.

On this night, Ugdulub was returning from one quest that took longer than it should have. It was just some simple animal extermination, somehow a bear found itself inside the Riverwood Trader. After Ugdulub killed it and disposed of the body, however, some hooded men walked into town and started to attack people. As it turned out, they were some stray vampires and Ugdulub teamed with the town guard to take care of the three monsters. Shortly after he was confronted by an Orc offering him to join some vampire hunting clan, but Ugdulub wasn't interested in fighting more of those . . . things. By the time Ugdulub finally returned to Whiterun, the moons were high in the sky.

Entering Jorvaskr, Ugdulub found Aela waiting impatiently for the results of the extermination. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"Had a little vampire trouble, nothing big," Ugdulub replied. Aela had slowly opened up to his presence in the Companions. It probably helped that whatever lingering scents of Govegein had long been washed away.

"I'm still not sure if you're quite ready for this, but Skjor disagrees. He wants to talk to you." Aela looked worried. No, that wasn't the right word for it. Nervous maybe. She sighed, "It'll probably be fine as long as you don't turn out like the one who taught you how to train."

"You should probably cut Govegein a little slack," Ugdulub said.

"Who's that?"

"Wait, you never bothered to learn his name? The guy travelling with the Dragonborn. You have a report of what they did at Kynesgrove hung in your room. You know that Lydia became the Dragonborn's housecarl shortly before she died. You know that one of the people I was travelling with turned out to be the Dragonborn."

"Are you trying to tell me that the pervert who trained you and the mysterious warrior following the Dragonborn are the same person?" Ugdulub knew that she had been following the journey of Raddin and Govegein whenever news of their exploits reached Whiterun. Though the reports and criers never mentioned either of them by name, it was just the Dragonborn and the hooded swordsman.

"I thought you would have put that together by now, but yes." Aela left Jorvaskr, processing this new knowledge and Ugdulub began to look for Skjor. The mead hall was empty, and almost every bed in the sleeping quarters were filled, except for Aela's and Skjor's. Eventually, Ugdulub found Skjor sitting by the outdoor tables by the training area watching the moons high in the sky.

"I have something for you," Skjor said without turning to look at the Orc. "Follow me to the Underforge." The old warrior stood and walked away. Ugdulub followed him as he walked along the stone wall beneath the Skyforge. Reaching behind some ivy, Skjor found a lever and pulled it. A part of the stone pulled itself in and away, forming a door. Skjor entered, beckoning Ugdulub to follow.

The Orc was about to before he was stopped by a sickening sound. It was like muscles tearing and bones popping in and out of their sockets, followed by a roar. But that was not all that stopped the warrior from proceeding. He could feel it, the rage that had enveloped him each night. Not his own rage, but something else, something that didn't want him following this path. Of course, he didn't know this at the time. All he knew, or felt really, was that this feeling would leave if he continued into the Underforge. So he did.

* * *

Ugdulub awoke, naked, in the snow. He felt worse than he did on initiation night all that time ago. His bones were on fire and he felt tired, exhausted even. The sun was high in the sky now and it was framed by . . . trees? Where was he? Ugdulub looked around, everything seemed different, duller yet sharper. He could hear a deer somewhere but couldn't quite pinpoint it, the sound was drowned out by the sounds of people not far off. A fort of some kind maybe. He could smell a burnt out campfire and the stench of its unwashed inhabitants. Bandits then. What happened last night? Ugdulub struggled to remember.

* * *

Inside the Underforge, Ugdulub found Skjor waiting next to a werewolf. This must be it, his initiation into the Inner Circle. Either that, or they were going to feed him to whoever it was in beast form. Probably Aela now that he thought about it. "What's wrong?" Skjor asked mockingly, "You don't recognize Aela?" Definitely the huntress.

"I'm glad you came," Skjor became more serious. "It has been a long time since we have had a heart like yours among our numbers. Even if you are mer and not man. That pitiful ceremony behind the hall does not befit warriors like us. Like you are now becoming. You are due more honor than some calls and feasting. Aela here has agreed to be your forebear, to grant you a gift to accelerate your transformation into a warrior." Skjor turned to Ugdulub for the first time that night as Aela stood straighter. "We do this in secret because Kodlak is too busy trying to throw away this great gift we've been granted." He circled a dais in the middle of the chamber so that he stood on the other side of the transformed Aela. Embedded atop the dais was a large bowl.

"He thinks we've been cursed," Skjor continued, "but we've been blessed. How can something that gives this kind of prowess be a curse? So we take matters into our own hands. To reach the height of the Companions, you must join with us in the shared blood of the wolf. Are you prepared to join your spirit with the beast world, friend?"

Ugdulub paused. He could still feel the rage, although it was far off, like it could not enter this sanctuary. "What if I don't want to be a werewolf?" he asked, unsure of what would happen.

"That is your choice," Skjor sighed. "We will not force you. But to join the Circle, your blood must be as ours."

So this was an invitation to the Inner Circle. "I wasn't saying that I don't want to be one," Ugdulub quickly said, "I was just wondering if this was a mandatory step." He breathed deeply before saying, "I'm ready."

"Very well," Skjor said, drawing his sword. He turned towards Aela and held her arm out, over the bowl. Skjor cut a deep gash into Aela's arm and bled her out into the bowl. When the red tide ended, Aela's arm was healed and the bowl was filled. Ugdulub swallowed nervously as he approached the bowl. His hand shook as he dipped in into the crimson blood. The feeling of rage began to fade as he brought his hand to his lips. It vanished completely as Aela's blood rushed down his throat.

"Huh," Ugdulub started, "not as bad as I thought it wou-" His body was on fire, bones changing, muscles stretching. He clutched his head and stubled back as someone screamed. Ugdulub wasn't sure if it was him or some random bystander or even the thing that haunted his dreams. By the time he was outside, Ugdulub was on all fours and running, everything was in a haze as he fought an instinct to kill any moving creature. He jumped atop a house and began to run from rooftop to rooftop as the town guard struggled to follow him. Ugdulub ran towards the wall surrounding the city, but blacked out before he reached it.

* * *

Ugdulub sat up, the snow chilling his uncovered skin. "Are you awake?" Aela's voice boomed in his ears. "Yours was not an easy transformation, but you're still alive, so congratulations. You'll get used to the heightened senses soon enough. Now come, we have a celebration planned for you. There's a pack of werewolf hunters camped nearby, at Gallows Rock. I suspect you already could tell that they were there. It's the Silverhand. I believe you've met them before." Ugdulub nodded. "We're going to slaughter them. All of them." Aela handed Ugdulub a large pouch. During this whole speech, she did not once look directly at the naked orc. Opening the sac, Ugdulub found his gear. Putting it on, he realized that it fit even better than before. "Lead on. Skjor's already scouting ahead."

"How did I get here?" Ugdulub asked.

"It was your first transformation into the wolf. The first is always the most . . . intense. After you fled Whiterun. Skjor took his beast form and we herded you here."

"Will I always black out within a few minutes of changing?"

"No, you'll get used to the change within a few tries." Ugdulub began to walk in the direction of the fort. "Oh, and about that Govegein person we talked about before . . . I want to fight him."

Ugdulub stopped. "What?"

"I refuse to believe that he is as strong as the reports say."

"You saw what he did to Lydia, right? You two were relatively close. You told me yourself that she was almost on par with you before she joined the guard. I doubt she let up in her training between then and when she was beaten."

"That was a long time ago and I trained harder than her. Pair that with the beast blood and I could take down a dragon singlehandedly if I wanted to."

"Okay, next time I see him, I guess I'll send him your way." Ugdulub shook his head as he continued towards the encampment.

* * *

**Okay, kind of short chapter, I know, but I still like how it turned out. Ugdulub's a werewolf now and next chapter we get into hunting the Silverhand. **

**The chapter's title is going to be the punniest thing ever.**


	8. Caught Silver Handed

**I'm sure you know how the next part goes. We infiltrated the base, hot on Skjor's trail.**

Chapter 7 – Caught Silver Handed

The guard sat by the fire, staring intently at it. He had nothing better to do anyway, he was posted outside the fortress after the Companion attacked. He was told to take a few others and watch for more Companions, the wolves usually hunted in packs. He had scouted the area, though, and found no signs of any others. No tracks of human or wolf. Now he just stared at the fire waiting for the all clear from inside.

He heard an arrow whiz by and heard it pierce flesh. He heard a choking, gurgling sound before the thud of a body falling from atop the fort. They were being attacked. The guard turned, but couldn't see anything, his eyes could not adjust to the sudden darkness. He heard a scream before the sickening sound of flesh and bone being crushed by a hammer. The sounds of an all-out fight began as his eyes began to adjust. He saw a mass of movement in the darkness of night. Many forms fell before two figures before a hammer fell into the light of the guard's campfire.

"Sorry," one of the figures said, "hands are still numb." He approached the fire as the other shot arrows into what was left of the moving forms, ending them. The first figure stepped into the firelight, it was an orc, a little smaller than an average orc, but still about the size of the guard. The orc picked up the hammer. The guard noticed, for the first time, the old blood caked onto the steel. The guard panicked and drew his silver sword, lunging for the orc. His eyes had adjusted enough now to see that the archer was a woman and she was turned away from the orc for the moment.

* * *

"Woah," Ugdulub said as he sidestepped the lunging Silverhand. This one had been staring into a fire when the attack started and hadn't moved from the light the entire time. Ugdulub hadn't even noticed him until his hammer slipped from his fingers. He hoped that the transformation wouldn't leave him numb and achy every time. Though now that he thought about it, Aela and Farkas didn't seem to have that kind of issue. The Silverhand swung again before Ugdulub hit him in the face with his hammer. With a crack, the Silverhand's jaw flew clean off of his head. Well, not clean per say, it was actually rather bloody.

Ugdulub turned to see Aela nervously looking around. "What's wrong?" he asked. Nothing seemed to be off about their situation, and he couldn't see, hear, or smell anything nearby.

"Skjor should have met us by now. Or at least taken care of these guards," she replied. "He must have went further inside, maybe gotten himself trapped behind a pile of corpses or something." Ugdulub had never heard her tell a joke before, so he figured she was either really worried or she actually believed it. Or both.

Inside the fort they found a closed gate, in truth it was more spears jutting up from the ground than a gate. There was a chain operated release on their side, but no viewable release on the other side. They decided that Skjor must have gone inside the building and then the Silverhand sealed him in with this contraption. Dropping the gate, Ugdulub followed Aela inside as stealthily as he could. He was not very skilled in the art of stealth, it was never taught in the stronghold even, not to mention his steel armor did not help.

Eventually, the Companions made it to the next room to find three Silverhand eating a roasted skeever. Aela quickly released an arrow into one's neck, he fell to the table before he could even choke on his own blood. Ugdulub ran in, drawing his new axe, and cleaved through one of the other two Silverhand sitting by a fire. The remaining Silverhand was big, bigger even than Ugdulub remembered his father, and was an Orc like him. The brute stood as Aela shot an arrow. Just before it hit his chest, he caught it. He picked up a greatsword that rested on the back of his chair and dropped the arrow.

The brute grinned as he charged Ugdulub, probably thinking that the small orc hunched over in fear. Then he heard it, the sound of bones snapping and reforming, of muscles stretching and changing. He watched as the small orc before him grew to match his height. When the brute reached Ugdulub, it was no longer an orc that stood before him, but a great black werewolf, green eyes assessing their attacker, orcish tusks prominent on the wolfen head. Ugdulub roared as he caught the greatsword in one hand and skewered the brutish Silverhand with the other.

Ugdulub reached down to pick up his dropped axe before Aela said, "Eat their hearts, you will grow stronger." Ugdulub scowled, or at least tried to, the thought of eating others didn't quite suit him, but he obeyed. He felt that, in the coming days, he would need all the strength he could get. As he began eating the hearts, Aela scanned the room. Opening one door revealed a tortured werewolf, he hung from iron shackles in the wall. Not a Companion from the looks of him.

She looked back at Ugdulub, this was her first time seeing his transformed self without the eyes of a wolf. The way that he seemed to retain some of his orcish features was almost frightening. She was sure that if one was to feel above his eyes, they could feel little stubs of horns. Not to mention that he still had enough dexterity to clutch that axe of his, let alone hold it with one hand. He would grow into a fearsome hunter indeed.

As Ugdulub swallowed down the last heart he wondered at what he looked like. The last time he transformed, he wasn't in the state of mind to try to check his reflection in a stream. He felt his face and found that his tusks had grown, though his horns still seemed to be covered by fur. Not to mention the obvious changes, like the snout he now had, and the tail. Aela motioned for him to follow her into the next area. Ugdulub found himself wondering about Aela's transformation. It had been dark in the underforge, so he didn't see her very well. He wondered if she retained her red hair the same way he retained his tusks and horns.

The rest of the fortress was relatively easy thanks to Ugdulub's transformation into his beast form. Any Silverhand that he couldn't tear apart by hand or axe was quickly dispatched by a hail of arrows from Aela. The two had a little trouble in one room, there was a raised platform that archers shot at them from.

Ugdulub tore a door off of its hinges and used it to shield Aela from the volley of arrows. This left him unguarded, though, to the warriors approaching them. Aela took care of any that got too close by switching to her sword and shield. When she had finished she drew her bow again and took aim at the archers. Meanwhile Ugdulub had flipped a nearby table onto its side and left Aela behind it. He ran, covered by his trusty door shield up the stairs to meet the archers. When he reached the top, he threw the door at one and his axe at another. The one who took his door was thrown off of the balcony by the force and crushed under the door while the other was impaled by the axe, her corpse pinned to the wall behind her. Aela was able to pick off whoever was left by then and Ugdulub began the process of eating the hearts at the huntress's request.

"We're getting close now," Aela said as she followed the furry hulk that was Ugdulub, "Be careful, their leader's a tricky one. They call him 'The Skinner'." Ugdulub grunted in compliance and creaked open the door to the inner most room of the fortress. Inside milled four Silverhands, two of them seemed to be elites, one may have been an initiate, and the final one stood in the middle of the room. He was a large, scarred Redguard in steel plate armor and he carried a dwarven shield and a wicked silver mace.

"Hey Krev," one of the Silverhand Elites said, "are you really going to skin this one?" Aela tensed behind Ugdulub. All of the warriors were turned towards Krev the Skinner, who stood over a body. "He didn't even change, I for one don't want armor made from human skin."

"It's not about the armor," Krev replied, staring at the body, "It's about sending a message." Ugdulub crouched as he readied to pounce on the initiate who was preparing a tanning rack, but before he could move, Aela vaulted over him, screaming. She quickly notched an arrow and let it fly into one of the elites' heads. The other stood behind a pillar. Krev took the helmet he held in his hands and put it on his head before turning to see Ugdulub pounce on the initiate.

After tearing the boy apart, Ugdulub backed towards the door as Krev approached him, "What? Trying to run after what I did to your buddy?" Ugdulub snarled as he reached for the axe he left hidden behind the doorway. Krev charged in and swung with his mace, only to have the deadly weapon stopped by Ugdulub's axe. "Ooh, that's new. Never seen one of your kind with teeth like that either." They traded blows, Ugdulub's axe deflected by Krev's shield and Krev's mace caught by Ugdulub's hand. The silver burnt his hand and Ugdulub was forced to throw it away. "You look more like a wereboar than a werewolf!"

Meanwhile, Aela was having as much trouble with her opponent as Ugdulub did his. They were matched in archery skills, any arrow Aela released was dodged, and the elite's the same. Eventually they even began shooting arrows at the arrows, knocking them off path and giving a chance to counter attack. Eventually, Aela missed the arrow that was flying at her. It pierced her leg, staying there. "Ha, no running now bitch."

"Think again, skeever breath," Aela replied. It was only then that the elite noticed that Aela wasn't aiming for the arrow, but for her hand. The arrow had pierced straight through the archer's hand, embedding itself inside her arm. The archer screamed, holding her arm, before an arrow flew through her eye.

Ugdulub's fight was not going quite as well. His axe had been flung across the room, his wolfen fingers not made to hold the handle well. Luckily though, he had broken through the Skinner's shield before losing his grip. The silver mace would still be a problem. The thing looked like it was made to kill werewolves. The mace was actually comprised of silver blades held side by side onto the handle. Judging by the way they moved when Krev swung, Ugdulub figured that they could detach from the handle, leaving the poisonous silver in werewolf flesh. Seeing as his hand still stung from touching it once, he did not want one of those blades in him.

The Orc wolf ran up the stairs onto the central platform. "Running again?" Krev taunted. Ugdulub stopped short of the body, not even wanting to identify it, and turned to sprint towards Krev. He jumped off of the ledge and into the steel plated Redguard. Holding the mace hand down with all of his might, Ugdulub tried to tear at the armor. It didn't work and Krev began punching him. There's the burning sensation again, his knuckles must be plated in silver. Ugdulub grabbed Krev's head as the burning onslaught continued. He began to put as much weight as he could into his right hand and, finally, the steel helmet began to bend. Krev's mace hand broke free as Ugdulub pushed harder. Ugdulub felt something else through the burning blades in his back. His transformation was failing. With a roar he gave the last of his strength in one final push and crushed the helmet containing Krev's head. The beating arms went limp and Ugdulub began to revert.

The naked Orc stood over Krev's corpse as Aela examined the corpse on the platform. She choked back a sob as she was that it was Skjor. Ugdulub walked towards her, examining the body. There were signs of torture. Were they trying to get information or just trying to get him to transform? Aela began undressing Skjor. "What are you doing?"

Aela held back tears, "He won't be needing it anymore and you are about his size now." Ugdulub realized that when he transformed he tore apart his armor. The set Aela gave him earlier must have been new. Ugdulub began to look for his axe while Aela worked. "He was much like a father to me, an older brother at least," she said. Ugdulub found his axe and returned to the platform as Aela finished. She handed him the wolf armor before saying that she would stay here a while, rest and give Skjor a proper burial. Ugdulub, though, should take the fight to the Silverhand. She gave him the location of some Silverhand hideout and he set off for it after retrieving his hammer from the first room of the fortress.

* * *

**Sorry about the delay, had computer issues then internet issues. You guys now how it goes.**

**So, yeah. Punny title and off to the next quest.**


	9. Hunting the Hunters

**What's it like turning into a werewolf? The first time feels like you're being torn apart while being delirious, like you're really drunk or something. After that, well it still hurts, but it's also exhilarating at the same time, it's the best you've ever felt and the best most will ever feel again.**

Chapter 8 – Hunting the Hunters

Stealing plans. That's what Aela had Ugdulub doing. The directions she gave him sent the poor Orc hiking across Skyrim to some small cave near Ivarstead. From far away, the cave was little more than a crack in the side of the mountain, the only thing that gave it away was the fact that two Silverhand stood watch outside it. Taking them out was easy, Ugdulub hardly even broke a sweat. When he entered the cave, he found a stream flowing through it and decided to follow it, but he was soon blocked off by two more guards. They sat around a fire swapping tales of the animals they killed. From the sounds of it, they had several caged up deeper inside. Ugdulub quickly dispatched them and moved on to find that the stream emptied into a massive cavern, at the bottom of which, the water pooled into a small lake.

An island, more a pillar really, sat in the middle of the lake connected to the rest of the cave by two naturally formed bridges. Roaming on the island were two more Silverhand, but Ugdulub could smell two more. He couldn't quite pinpoint them, not yet, but he guessed that they watched from a higher place. He noticed scaffolding above the bridge that was further from him. He guessed that there would be archers there. He sprinted across the bridge like an arrow, axe drawn and rammed one of the Silverhand, who fell off of the island and missed the water. He turned in time to block the other one's attack while the archers stumbled to ready themselves.

Ugdulub pulled the fight to where the archers couldn't see them and decapitated his assailant. He picked up the head and pressed himself against the wall, guessing at where the archers were. When he was satisfied with his impression, he threw the severed head in that direction. Hearing a satisfying yelp and two thuds, Ugdulub peered around to see that the archers had descended from their scaffold. Ugdulub ran towards the archers, arrows whizzed past him, and he embedded his axe into one of the archer's skulls. As that archer fell, Ugdulub turned to the other one and began to punch him, hard. Ugdulub could feel the bones breaking under his fists. After the battered body fell and slid off into the water, Ugdulub pulled his axe out of the other's skull and moved on.

Two more Silverhand seemed to have heard the fight and approached Ugdulub from across the bridge. He charged them, but they were ready for the fight, one stood in front, shield held high. Ugdulub swung low, crippling the man in front. The woman behind him paused in shock before jumping over her fallen comrade and swinging a mace at Ugdulub. Ugdulub caught the mace with his axe and held it down while he elbowed the Silverhand in the face. She stumbled backwards as Ugdulub approached, but the fallen Silverhand held him back. Ugdulub sighed and dropped the blade of his axe into the man's face, killing him. The woman righted herself as Ugdulub pulled his axe up. She charged him, but he backhanded her so hard that he broke her neck. She fell looking up at him. Ugdulub climbed a slope that lead to a passage deeper into the Silverhand hideout.

"Ugh, she drunk again," one of the Silverhand said. Ugdulub found himself in some kind of ruin. An old fort built into the side of the mountain maybe, must have been covered in stone ages ago.

"Really? What is it about this time?" Ugdulub could smell mead, it wafted heavily though the ruin. The two conversing Silverhand sat at what could have been a makeshift bar.

"She just found out that Krev was cheating on her or something."

"She was married?"

"I don't think Krev even knew who she was. Anyway, now she wants to fight everyone, all the men at least, calling men animals."

"I hate it when she gets drunk," the Silverhand said before turning to see that his friend was not there. Looking around he found his companion on the floor, an arrow in his neck. He spun to be met with another arrow lodging itself in his neck.

Ugdulub swiveled, trying to find the archer. He jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "You smell like dog, green one," a scruffy black Khajit said, "Tar'zuk does not like dogs."

"Wha?" Ugdulub started. The Khajit was not dressed like a Silverhand, but instead had grey, sleeveless armor. He wore no shoes and his gauntlets were cut to expose his hands. A black bow was slung across his back.

Tar'zuk crossed his arms as he glared at the orc, "You ruined Tar'zuk's job. He was trying to get the Moon Amulet without being noticed, but you had to come in, sounding of metal and smelling of dog, and kill half the people. Now they will blame Tar'zuk for this slip up. You even forced Tar'zuk to kill two of them himself. Tar'zuk hopes you are proud of yourself. At least he already has gotten the Amulet."

"What? Listen pussy cat, I'm just here for the plans the Silverhand were storing here."

Tar'zuk's ears perked up at this. "Do you mean this?" he pulled out a leather book and showed Ugdulub the contents. "Tar'zuk was planning on trying to sell important documents back to bandits, but if the loud dog wants them . . . " When Ugdulub grabbed for the book, Tar'zuk pulled it away from his hand. "Tar'zuk will need payment."

Ugdulub sighed. "What do you want?"

"Tar'zuk hears tell of the Companions leader, yes Tar'zuk knows you're a Companion, has a special gem. Get him into the Companions home and he will give you the book."

"Alright." Ugdulub wasn't even sure that the doors in Jorvaskr had locks.

* * *

Tar'zuk handed Ugdulub the book as he slipped out of sight and Ugdulub approached Aela. "Ah, good you have it," she paused, "Why in oblivion do you smell like a cat?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ugdulub replied, trying to push the previous day out of his memory.

"Anyway, I have another job for you. Some Silverhand have been acting up and we need you to put down their leader."

"Okay . . . where is it?"

* * *

Ugdulub was really beginning to hate Aela's jobs. He crouched outside a cave, but that wasn't what was angering him. The cave in question was located on the other side of a giant camp, at least there weren't any mammoths around to help them. When Ugdulub tried to sneak past the massive creatures, they attacked. He had to transform just to hold them off, and even then it was difficult. He tried eating one of their hearts, but it just didn't give the same burst of energy that human hearts did. Now he crouched, an orc again and exhausted, steeling himself for the fight ahead. When he finally did make his way inside he was . . . unprepared for what he saw to say the least.

It seemed that everyone had gathered in the first room of the cave. Most of them stood in a large circle, a few outside it, and one in the middle of the whole thing. The Silverhand outside the circle played on instruments, a lute, a flute, a drum, and something that looked like several flutes stuck inside a stomach. As the ensemble played, the circle swayed. The woman in the center raised her hand, she was a large orcish woman and wore dwarven armor, the band stopped and the circle's attention was all on her.

"We are here today to morn for our losses. The damnable wolves have gotten cocky of late and killed many more of us in a shorter time than ever before. They even took . . . the Skinner from us. He was one of our greatest warriors. But he took one of theirs with him, he sent word of the craven Skjor falling to his blade, and even though we could not find his body we know that Skjor no longer appears in Jorvaskr. So we will carry on in the Skinner's name," the woman shouted. The Silverhand in the circle began to chant Krev's name. "Krev, my love," she whispered in the din, "you shall rest in peace and I shall find the wolf that did this and wear his pelt."

Ugdulub gulped as he decided on what to do. Be awesome like the Companions of old and kill them all? Or be smart and wait for them to disperse? Ugdulub sighed, he had the perfect thing to say in this situation. "Sorry ma'am," he shouted. All eyes turned to the Orc in the mouth of the cave. "I don't plan on losing my pelt so easily." He could hear thuds from outside and guessed that some giants had returned from taking their mammoths on a walk. The Silverhand warriors charged towards him as he backed out of the cave. Outside they met with three giants, enraged at the deaths of their comrades, and a herd of mammoths. Ugdulub waved at them from the other side of the group, the giants figured the bandits killed their friends. They had no clue what kind of beast actually did.

The Silverhand leader met Ugdulub near the burnt out cinders of the giant's bonfire. "Ooh, Krev must have had quite the taste in women," Ugdulub said. "I know the other races find us . . . unbecoming, but even Malacath would cringe if he saw you." The Silverhand leader shouted unintelligibly as she charged Ugdulub without a weapon. "Really?" When she got close to him, she twisted his arm and flipped Ugdulub onto the ground. She punched Ugdulub in the stomach hard enough to dent the Wolf Armor. Ugdulub could feel his lunch coming up and punched the woman in her unarmored face, knocking her off.

The Silverhand leader spat out blood. "You killed Krev? Don't make me laugh. You can barely pass for an orc."

"Hey, that is a very sensitive subject for me," Ugdulub started as she began to lunge at him. This time he sidestepped, watching for her powerful grip. "And besides, I crushed that skeever's head flat." The woman screamed in rage and swung for Ugdulub, who returned with a jab of his own. Her punch missed, but his hit its mark, leaving a large crater in her armor. He tried to pull his had away only to find that she had caught his hand. The Silverhand leader grinned as she twisted Ugdulub onto the ground again, this time on his stomach.

"Even if you didn't do it, I'm going to skin you in Krev's name," she said, pulling out a knife and holding it to Ugdulub's throat. "But, you're going to be alive when I do it."

Ugdulub scowled, she had him pinned. She was already heavier than he was and this position did not help him in any way. He had to do something, he searched inside himself for any sort of left over power, anything that could help. The he felt it. The change was happening again. His body grew, straining the armor that it was contained in and putting the woman on top of him off balance. He cried out as the armor began to give, but the cry came out as a bestial growl. The armor burst open and the Silverhand leader was thrown off of Ugdulub. But, when he stood he was no longer Ugdulub.

The Silverhand backed away in fear. Ugdulub figured that this was her first sight of a werewolf. He was wrong, the Silverhand had to single handedly kill a werewolf to make it her rank. This was the first time she saw what Ugdulub was. She couldn't bring herself to call it a werewolf. The beast with dark-green, almost black, fur glared at her with emerald eyes. Saliva dripped off of the tusks that stabbed out of its mouth. The horns on its head were now visible along with several other bone protrusions on its back, chest, and arms. This monster was like no werewolf anyone had seen.

It roared and she screamed, causing the giants to look over from their massacre. What they thought when they saw this creature, no one could truly say, but they herded their mammoths away from the gruesome thing that tore apart the little green and yellow thing.

* * *

Meanwhile in Jorvaskr. "Aela," Kodlak shouted, "I would have words with you".

* * *

**I hope I described Ugdulub's new werewolf form well enough, now that he has fully matured into it. Anyway, got it done, fighting laziness one letter at a time.**

**I wanted to give some fore warning to the thing that happens later. Those that did the quest, which I assume you all did, know what it is. Those that did not, go do it. Like now. Why are you still reading this? If you don't have Skyrim, go get it, why are you even here?**


	10. The Glenmori

**And then Kodlak found out about my little . . . excursions. Needless to say, he was angry, but I think Aela took the brunt of that. She was actually there when he found out and I think he might have taken most of it out on her.**

Chapter 9 – The Glenmori

Ugdulub walked back into Jorvaskr and immediately could tell that something was amiss. All eyes in the mead hall were on him from the moment he opened the door. Everyone that was there was waiting for something to happen. Aela walked up to Ugdulub from the sleeping quarters. She looked worse for the wear, like she hadn't slept since the last time he saw her. "I, uh, finished the . . . quest you gave me," Ugdulub said, still wondering about why everyone was watching him.

"What? Oh, right," Aela began, the tiredness evident in her voice. "That's good, we didn't need any more upstart Silverhand. Although, Kodlak has heard of our movements these past few days and he wants to talk with you now."

Kodlak? This explains the stares. Ugdulub doubted that Kodlak was approving of his efforts to damage the Silverhand. "Alright," he sighed, "where is he?"

"Where he always is."

Ugdulub passed Aela, walking towards the barracks. Climbing down the stairs, he began to think about what could be in store for him. Could the unofficial leader of the Companions have some insane punishment waiting for the orc?_ Probably not_, he thought as he rounded the corner and looked down at the long hall that lined the feasting room above. From what Aela said it was more likely that he would lecture him on the balance of this fight and how his actions could cause unforeseen repercussions. That was more likely.

He could see Kodlak at the end of the hallway. The aged man sat in his usual chair, a book in one hand and a flagon of mead in the other. Ugdulub stopped in front of Kodlak. When Kodlak kept reading, Ugdulub coughed. Startled, Kodlak looked up from his book, "Oh, sorry. It was just getting to a really good part." Kodlak put down his copy of 'A Detailed History of the Empire' and smiled at Ugdulub. "Well, have a seat, I'll get Tilma to bring another flagon."

Ugdulub raised an eyebrow as he complied with Kodlak's wishes. "You, uh, wanted to speak with me, sir?"

Kodlak laughed, "Drop the 'sir' if you would? And yes I did want to talk with you. Well, I guess tell you a story might be more apt."

"A story? I thought you wanted to lecture me about my rash actions."

Kodlak smirked. "You're smart Ugdulub. I'm sure that by now you have already guessed that there is a balance to these kinds of things. We both know that a retaliation is coming, why reiterate the fact? Now tell me, boy, you know many of the old tales, not even Vignar can tell them better than you, but do you know the story of how the Companions became werewolves?"

"No, not really," Ugdulub replied. "That part was left out of what I read. When I was changed, Skjor said that it was a blessing. Though a while ago, before I changed, I remember hearing Vilkas speak of it like a curse and how the Companions of old were tricked."

"They are both right," Kodlak said, "In their own ways. The Companions, as you know, are an old guild. We date back to when Skyrim was founded, though our wolfen side is far younger than the organization. From what I've gathered, it all started with Kyrnil Long-Nose in the late Second Era."

"That would make sense," Ugdulub interrupted, "He's the one that started the tradition of the Inner Circle."

"Yes, but do you know how that happened?" Ugdulub shrugged and slowly shook his head. "He and his allies killed the strongest members of the Companions in his time and took their place. Now he nor his friends were Werewolves, but in this act he created the perfect setting for them. Lifetimes later, came the Harbinger Terrfyg. Little is known of what actually happened, like why and how it happened, but he came into contact with a coven of Wyrd, a type of witch that devotes themselves to nature. This specific group were devotees to Hircine and offered Terrfyg a deal. They offered him and his Inner Circle the power to overcome any foe, what they asked in return was lost to time. Terrfyg took the deal, not knowing that the effects would stay with him after death."

"What?" Ugdulub was startled. He knew little of Daedra, save Malacath, and less about their creations, save Malacath's works. He knew that most Daedra coveted the souls of mortals, though he had no clue why.

"You see, after death a Werewolf is brought to Hircine's hunting grounds and joins the Wild Hunt. This may be a paradise for some people, the thrill of the hunt is alluring to the wolf, but I am a true Nord and I wish to go to Sovngarde and drink and battle with the heroes of old. So I researched Hircine for years, almost the entire time that I've been Harbinger, and just recently I have found what I've been looking for."

"A way to reverse the curse . . ." Ugdulub whispered.

"Yes. A curse of this kind needs the blood of the casters to be unwoven, and before you say it, yes they are still alive. They are some of Hircine's most trusted agents on Mundus, they would have struck a deal with the prince to keep them here. I theorize that if someone who carries the very blood they cursed took one of their heads and threw it into the hearth in Ysgramor's tomb, the holy flames would end the curse, but only for the one who burned the head. This, Ugdulub, is where you come in. I have located where the coven should be, all you have to do is retrieve one of their heads and we can begin to end this curse."

Ugdulub nodded. This is what Kodlak wanted, but something prevented him from retrieving the head himself. Ugdulub stood and thanked Kodlak for his time before going to gather supplies for his hunt.

* * *

"Look at this one, sisters."

"Hmmm, that doesn't quite belong here, the wards should keep any travelers from coming near unless they know to seek us."

"No, look closer."

"Is that a child of Malacath? I thought we made sure that those were kept even further from us."

"No, you fools, look at his armor."

"Oh . . . the wolf."

"Yes, now that you mention it, there is that air about him."

"Along with something else."

* * *

Ugdulub felt sick, he had ever since he entered these forsaken woods. He followed Kodlak's map to the Glenmori Coven and hoped that the man wasn't just going senile. That would be a great loss. The trees thinned as he reached the end of the forest, which he thought was odd. This forest usually grew all the way up to the mountains, sometimes even just up them, but here it stopped. Even the grass began to thin as it got closer to the mountains. He was nearing his destination according to his map, but it didn't add up. Kodlak told him that the Wyrd specialized in nature magics, how could the forest die around one of their covens?

Ugdulub walked up a narrow ledge as he climbed the mountain. It grew wider as he climbed and at the top met the mouth of a cave. Driven into the dead dirt around the cave were wooden stakes that lined the ridge. Hanging from strange arrays were what looked to Ugdulub like body parts carved out of wood. Wooden hearts hung in nets and wooden heads were impaled in the macabre totem. Ugdulub heard movement inside the cave and decided that it was time to collect what he came for.

"Yes, I think you here right," a voice called out from the shadows. "There is something else about him." It rasped like dry bark.

"An interesting sight, this one's wolf, it you could call it that." Movement in the shadows. They were waiting for him.

A laugh like someone choked on dust, "Tainted, then, just like us." A blast of fire flew in front of Ugdulub setting a pile of wood alight.

Ugdulub gasped at what the light revealed. Four women, ancient and withered, stood around him, but that was not what startled him. These women were no longer of any of the races, they were all twisted and deformed, part human and part beast. One, the one that spoke last, had greying black feathers protruding from her arms and lower back, her nose extending into a beak. Another had patchy grey fur growing from her and a long bare tail, like a skeever's. A third, the one with the dry voice, had a brittle looking carapace and pincers the color of mud. The fourth stayed to the shadows, but Ugdulub could hear the scuttling of arachnid legs.

"This is what happens when one betrays the trust of a daedra," the fourth one said, "But I suspect that the child of Malacath will be learning that soon enough."

"What are you?"

"One could say monsters," the dry one said. "We lusted for the forms of beasts after our master refused to give them to us. We attempted to take a god's work into our own hands and we twisted His gift."

"His wolf neutralized Malacath's presence in the boy," the furry one whispered. "But the wolf returned to him scarred by the cursed one."

"What do you mean?" Ugdulub pressed.

"Did he not know?" the fourth said. "The blessed scion of the Cursed God, scorned by the scorned yet driven for strength."

"I suspect you did not come for a reading of your past and your wolf," the feathered one said. She had not taken her eyes off of Ugdulub since the fire was lit. Her black beady bird eyes watched every little movement of the Orc as if he was the most interesting thing they had ever seen. "No you came for something else."

"I came to kill the Glenmori Coven, take their heads, and use them to end the Companions' curse," Ugdulub said before he even knew it. It was like the words were pulled out of him, though all of the hags looked just as stunned as he did.

Suddenly the furry one fell over, cackling like a madwoman. "Who would have thought a child of Malacath would be the one to finally come to end our torment."

"Almost seems fitting," the dry one said, "After all that we have done to his kind in the past."

"Even if he did do it, Hircine would keep us alive," the shadowy one spoke up.

"Aye, but he has a way to end the curse," the feathered one replied. "I can see it in his eyes a fire that burns with Shor's blessings and can incinerate any magic it touches. But to wish to attempt such a crude fix . . ."

"Hey, I'm a 'child of Malacath', crude, but efficient, is kind of what we do."

"He is . . . correct. And the spell will work as well," the furry one said.

"Very well, warrior, we shall take you up on your offer," the feathered one said, lowering her head. The others followed suit, even the one in the shadows stepped into the light and stretched her spidery neck.

* * *

Days later, Ugdulub walked through the gate leading to Whiterun. He carried four bags slung over his shoulder and could feel the tension as the townspeople's eyes turned towards him and they began to whisper to each other. Although it wasn't their whispers he was hearing.

"Are we at the tomb yet?"

"Shut up, we are in a town of some sort."

"Why are we at a town?"

Ugdulub was shocked when the severed heads of the witches began to speak after he cut them off. Now it was just getting annoying. He smelt blood on the wind as he approached Jorvaskr. Several Companions stood outside. They were standing, weapons drawn, over Silverhand corpses.

Seeing Vilkas, Ugdulub ran forward. "What happened?"

"The Silverhand got fed up with being attacked, I guess." His words stung Ugdulub like venom. "I never thought they would have the audacity to attack us in the city. I think some of them got inside, go check on how the others are doing."

Ugdulub ran inside the mead hall to find Aela, Farkas, and several others standing in a circle by the fire. As Ugdulub approached, they parted and he dropped his load. Ugdulub staggered forward and tears burned in his eyes as he looked upon the corpse of Kodlak Whitemane.

* * *

**Hey all, due to my new schedule, this will now be updated on Tuesdays instead of Mondays.**

**So, yeah, we've shed some light on Ugdulub's predicament and got some wakky new . . . uh . . . heads. If anyone can think of a pun for those severed Glenmori heads, feel free to write it down in the comments.**


	11. Revenge

**I think Vilkas blamed himself more than he did me for what happened to Kodlak. He masked his self-loathing with rage for my absence, even if it was at Kodlak's request. Vilkas took me with him that night to hunt down and wipe out the Silverhand.**

Chapter 10 – Revenge

Vilkas hadn't changed out of beast form since he saw Kodlak's corpse. He had grabbed Ugdulub with his changed hands and dragged the orc through the Underforge and out of Whiterun, hot on the trail of some surviving Silverhand. When the wolf-Vilkas grabbed him, Ugdulub had dropped the bag he was carrying. The one holding the four living Glenmori Witch heads. He barely noticed Aela looking inside, scowling and following them. She hadn't left Whiterun, as far as Ugdulub knew, so it was only him and Vilkas stalking through the dark forest. The orc figured that they were somewhere in the Pale by now, he was keeping good time with the enraged beast ahead of him, considering that he refused to change. He felt that that was not how Kodlak would have wanted him to handle this. That and something the Glenmori had said to him haunted the Orc, 'blessed scion of the cursed god'.

No time to ponder about what the hags had said, Vilkas stopped in front of Ugdulub and he could see the lights of a fort not too far ahead. The beast blood gave him some clearer sense of the night, not as good as Vilkas in his beast form though, and Ugdulub could tell that two guards stood atop the short building. It seemed to be too small to be the headquarters of the Silverhand. Ugdulub guessed that most of the facility was dug into the ground, or buried by years of landslides. He turned to Vilkas, to ask about a plan for this, to find that the wolf was gone. A scream followed by a sickening crunch sounded in the darkness followed by more shouts and the sound of flesh and bone tearing as Vilkas dispatched the guards. He dropped to the door that lead into the fort and crawled inside. Ugdulub ran to follow him.

Inside the refuge, Ugdulub followed a path of blood and gore that was left by Vilkas as he tore through any and all Silverhand that he came across. Ugdulub caught up with the wolf in a two leveled room where Vilkas was tearing the ribcage out of one of the Silverhand. "Vilkas!" he shouted as the wolf threw the bloody bones at a Silverhand recruit attempting to flee. The werewolf turned and snarled at the orc. "You need to calm yourself before you tear apart everyone here!" The beast growled as it stepped towards Ugdulub. "I know that they are our enemies, but do they really deserve this kind of desecration?" Ugdulub argued, looking at the carnage that surrounded him. "Shouldn't they at least get to die a warrior's death? With a sword in their hands, and one in yours?"

A low growl sounded from the beast's throat before it padded deeper into the ruin. Ugdulub remembered that Vilkas had left his gear back at Jorvaskr. He hoped that he had at least brought some conscience back to the beast and that Vilkas could hold back enough to not look like a nightmare personified. While Ugdulub had held himself together when scolding the wolf, he was terrified. This was the first time he had stood against one of the inner circle. Not only that, but Vilkas had been in his beast form. Ugdulub hadn't felt so small since he sparred with his father for the first time. His father was as big as Orismer come and Ugdulub had still been the smallest in addition to being a child. Thinking back on it, his father seemed kind of cruel, forcing his five year old son into a sparring match, even if it was to teach him how to use a sword.

Ugdulub shook off his fear and followed Vilkas deeper into the fortress. He found Vilkas crouching in the shadows before the next room. From what Ugdulub could see, it was a makeshift kitchen. The corridor on the far side was blocked by the same kind of floor-lances he had seen when Ugdulub and Aela raided the Silverhand stronghold. There was a chain release on a wall nearby. Two Silverhand sat eating, they apparently hadn't heard the commotion of Vilkas's rampage, or of Ugdulub's outburst. A third, wearing an apron over his iron armor, stood before a boiling cauldron, stirring the liquid within.

Peering at Vilkas, who only nodded him forward, Ugdulub stepped into the room. One of the easing Silverhand put down his food as he nodded towards the intruding orc. His friend turned to see the warrior as the one standing over the cauldron simply hummed a tune, completely engrossed in his cauldron. Ugdulub ran in, taking the cauldron as the two Silverhand at the table stood. The further one drew a bow and kicked over the table while his friend picked up his axe and shield. The cook was knocked back by Ugdulub, into the waiting Vilkas's arms. Ugdulub threw the cauldron at the closer warrior and immediately regretted his idea. As the boiling broth poured all over the warrior, Ugdulub could smell the delicious fragrance and remembered that he hadn't eaten tonight. The warrior screamed as the boiling liquid flowed over him, his archer friend preoccupied by the werewolf that had suddenly appeared out of the dark hallway. Ugdulub drew his battle axe and cleaved through the now red skinned warrior before leaping over the table to meet his friend.

When all was said and done, Vilkas pulled arrows out of his thick pelt as Ugdulub pulled the release for the gate barring their progression.

* * *

The wolf-Vilkas seemed to laugh as he watched Ugdulub wrestle the werewolf. After clearing out the kitchen, the two Companions delved into the cellar. Soon after entering, Vilkas triggered a spike-wall trap, which broke on him when he blocked. He seemed to be even more durable than any other werewolf Ugdulub had seen. To be fair, Ugdulub ad only seen Aela and Farkas, and only briefly at that, but he never felt that he could take a trap like that relatively unscathed. After pulling the splinters out of Vilkas's hide they were encountered by more Silverhand and found that the walls of the cellar had fallen, exposing an ice tunnel. Inside the tunnel they found a beast keeper along with two large cages, one of which held the werewolf Ugdulub was now fighting.

Seeing the werewolf huddled, shivering, in a corner of the cage pulled at the orc's heart. So, after they killed the beast keeper, Ugdulub searched him for the cage's key. Despite Vilkas's protests, Ugdulub found the key and released the best, only to be tackled. Not in the way a dog does to a friend, but the way a wolf does to an elk. Ugdulub punched the werewolf in the jaw, shouting, "No one bests an orc." The werewolf rolled off of him and roared in response. When it pounced again, Ugdulub fell backwards, pushing the beast forwards in its flight and rocketing the werewolf into the wall of ice behind Ugdulub. The werewolf's body went limp as it lost consciousness.

Ugdulub picked himself up and looked at Vilkas who was rolling on the ground, fighting back a bestial laugh. "Not one word about this," Ugdulub said as Vilkas pulled himself together, "I'm serious Vilkas." The two walked into the next room, out of the ice tunnel, and Vilkas immediately sobered. They were in a small torture room, a dead female werewolf hung to one wall, her arms bloody from the shackles that held her up. The torturer stood, sword ready, facing the orc and the beast. An inhuman roar shook the walls as Ugdulub embedded his axe through the torturer's head ending at his stomach. Ugdulub fought back the urge to change as he pieced together possible scenarios of what happened here, each one worse than the last. Vilkas hit Ugdulub in the back of the head.

"Y-yeah . . . yeah," Ugdulub stammered, "Stay focused." Ugdulub spat on the torturer's corpse after he pulled his axe out. The duo left the torture chamber, entering a large room with three Silverhand waiting to the warriors. Ugdulub looked at them with a darkened face as they practically shook. Vilkas stood back as Ugdulub moved into action. Lightning fast, he grabbed the smallest of the three by his face and shoved him into the largest before drawing his axe. Ugdulub found a kind of peace in the chaos of battle as he clashed with the third Silverhand. In this peace he looked at all that had happened, from his time with Raddin and Govegein until his encounter with the Glenmori. He examined his growth over the months, even he found it a little weird. He thought harder, focusing on a vague memory of a dream. As the battle ended, so did the strange peace, and the memory evaporated like mist.

Ugdulub and Vilkas moved on to the final room of the fortress. They could hear voices inside, arguing. "What do you mean 'this is all they had'? We have all other pieces of Wuuthrad, what we didn't have the wolves did. We are missing the most important part of the axe!"

"And, what do you even want Wuuthrad for?" Ugdulub asked as he stepped into the room. When the four Silverhand in the room drew their weapons, he held up a hand. "Listen, I'm tired. I just want the killing to stop, even if it's just for a little while."

"Easy thing to say after you slaughtered all of our men!" the leader shouted.

"And easier when I could just let my friend here run wild," Ugdulub said gesturing to the werewolf behind him. "Alas, I am not much one for threats so how about a bargain? Give us the Wuuthrad fragments and we will leave you alone." Vilkas nudged Ugdulub in the back at this, he still wanted to tear them apart for attacking Jorvaskr and killing Kodlak. The Silverhand backed away from the table, letting Ugdulub gather the pieces while Vilkas snarled at them. "Why do you even fight with the Companions anyway? They help more than they hurt, settle disputes, take care of bandits, even exterminate infestations."

"You don't get it do you?" the Silverhand leader said. "Everyone here has, or had, a reason to hate you wolves. Maybe a friend or family member was killed by your kind. Some were a part of the Companions until they learned the truth and decided to fight against it."

Ugdulub finished gathering the shards and looked at the leader. "You need to let it go. The Companions are only a threat to you if you are a threat to them."

"You wolves are always a threat."

"The path you are on is a dark one. Take solace in knowing that we are ending the curse." Vilkas looked at Ugdulub in surprise. The Silverhand leader took this chance to lunge at the wolf with his silver blade, but was met with an axe blade in his face. "Even if you do not live to see the day." Ugdulub lifted the bar that locked the exit and let Vilkas through. Before he left he said, "I swear to you all, even if we are no longer werewolves, if you continue to operate like this the Companions will slaughter you all."

* * *

"Kodlak, he was like a father to my brother and I," Vilkas said, the light of the Skyforge illuminating him. The Companions gathered around Kodlak's funeral pyre to mourn their loss. "He took the two of us in and taught us to fight. When we were old enough he let us actually join the Companions. I still remember Farkas's dazed face after the fact."

"I actually had thought that we were already part of the Companions," Farkas admitted.

They were all swapping their fondest stories of Kodlak and finally it was Ugdulub's turn.

"I didn't really know our Harbinger that well," Ugdulub said shyly, "It makes me wish that I had actually sat down with him at some time and actually talked with him. I'll never forget his reaction when I asked him if I could join the Companions, I doubt Vilkas would forget that either. Though, looking back I don't blame Kodlak for it. More importantly I'll never forget the look in his eyes. Like he could see something that no one else did. It was like he looked at me and could see all that I could become. I just really wish I got the chance to talk with him."

When the ceremony was done, the Inner Circle met once more in the Underforge, but before Ugdulub could join them, he was stopped by Eorlund. "Kodlak had a fragment of Wuuthrad that he kept in his room, could you grab it for me before you meet with the others?"

* * *

**Yeah, kind of an akward place to stop, and the next chapter might be a little shorter, to keep in line with what I have planned. This plan involving two, maaaaaybe three, more chapters and an epilogue.**

**Thank you to all you readers and insert a picture of Ugdulub punching a werewolf here **


	12. Wuuthrad

**Ca-can we please just skip this part? Because it's an embarrassing part of my life . . . well no . . . nothing like that. I just don't want to talk about it, besides you already know the basic story. Fine . . . fine, but we start where I left off.**

Chapter 11 – Wuuthrad

Ugdulub sat on Kodlak's bed, stunned. He was in the dead Harbinger's room looking for a fragment of Wuuthrad the old man had kept close, and found with it a journal. Ugdulub did not know what compelled him to open the text, but he did, and what he read astonished him. Kodlak knew . . . knew about Ugdulub before he even came to the Companions. He had seen the werewolf Harbingers taken to Hircine's Hunting Grounds one by one, until he was next in line. Before he was taken, though, he was approached by a stranger, an Orc. This Orc, he described as a massive warrior who practically radiated strength.

A few passages later was recorded his meeting Ugdulub in person for the first time. He knew, with one glance that the twig before him would be killed if Farkas so much as stepped in the wrong place. Then he looked closer and realized that Ugdulub was the stranger from his dream. He could not hold back his laughter at the thought as the Orc asked to join the Companions. The journal goes on to tell of how Kodlak watched Ugdulub grow and what he hoped the young Orc could become in the future.

Ugdulub closed the journal and placed it on the bed. Picking up Kodlak's fragment, he set out to look for Eorlund. He found the old man hard at work on the Skyforge. This was odd, Eorlund seemed to have a rule about forging after dark, might have had something to do with being able to see outside of the forge. Whatever the case was, Eorlund noticed Ugdulub's approach over the flames and motioned for Ugdulub to set the fragment on the cooling table next to the forge. Ugdulub complied while keeping his eyes off of the forge, the fire seemed even brighter than normal and he preferred to keep his sight in the dark of night.

Ugdulub found the remains of the Inner Circle inside the Underforge, arguing about something. "It was the only thing he wanted to do before he died!" Vilkas shouted. "We need to honor his wishes."

"What, to throw away the greatest gift this side of Oblivion?" Aela argued.

"Nevertheless, Kodlak did not want the beast blood, he wanted to go to Sovngarde," Vilkas replied. "He wanted to meet the heroes of old, Ysgramor and his companions, he wanted to fight and drink alongside them. Now he no longer has the chance to clean himself, that right was taken from him."

"And you avenged him," Aela broke in.

"Kodlak did not care for vengeance," Farkas spoke for the first time since the ceremony.

"No . . . he didn't. That's not what this is about, we should be honoring his wishes, no matter our beliefs about the beast blood."

"You're right, of course," Aela said, sitting back on one of the altars that lined the cave. "It's what he wanted." Ugdulub noticed, for the first time, the large bag that sat next to her as it wriggled.

"Kodlak was unable to find a way to cleanse himself though, not even in life," Vilkas said.

"Hasn't the Child of Malacath told you yet?" a raspy voice called out.

"Quiet, they think we're dead!" another shouted.

Farkas and Vilkas drew their weapons as they watched the bag next to Aela open and four disfigured heads rolled out of it. Aela looked towards Ugdulub. "What do they mean?" she asked.

"Ysgramor kept a fire," the feathered Glenmori Witch head said. "One that could burn through enchantment and curse alike. The pyre was set within his own tomb and to this day refuses to die."

"What is that thing?" Vilkas asked.

"Those are what Kodlak sent me for before he died," Ugdulub said. "He found a lead on the witches that first transformed the companions. There's just one problem, Ysgramor's tomb is sealed, and only Wuuthrad can open its ancient doors."

"Wuuthrad is in pieces, just like it has been for centuries."

"And dragons were but tales to scare children to sleep," Eorlund said. He walked into the Underforge carrying a large bundle. "Just because something was, does not mean it always will be. A weapon is a tool, and like any good tool, it can be reforged."

"It can't be," Vilkas gasped. Ugdulub's heart began to beat faster, knowing Eorlund, there was only one thing that could be wrapped up in his hands.

"It can, and is. This is the first time I've had all of the pieces, thanks to Ugdulub here," Eorlund said, unwrapping the weapon. "The flames of heroes can reforge the shattered blade. The flames of Kodlak shall fuel the rebirth of Wuuthrad, and now it will take you to meet him once more." Ugdulub held his breath as he examined the battle axe in Eorlund's hands. The seams where the shards were merged were practically invisible, the ancient blade truly lived again and Ugdulub had lived to see it! Eorlund turned to Ugdulub, "As the one who bore the fragments, I think you should be the one to carry Wuuthrad into battle."

Ugdulub squealed as he almost fainted. "Sorry . . . sorry," Ugdulub said as he picked himself up. "This is quite literally a dream come true."

Eorlund laughed as he turned back to the Circle, "The rest of you, prepare to journey to the Tomb of Ysgramor, for Kodlak." The three nodded and left to gather their things, Farkas stopping to gather the Glenmori heads.

"This is going to be amazing," Ugdulub said, staring into Wuuthrad after the other four had left.

"Yeah, it will be," an unfamiliar female voice said from behind him. "But, listen, I'm going to need to use that favor now." Something stabbed Ugdulub in the back before everything went black.

* * *

Ugdulub woke up to the jolting of a carriage and saw a white haired Dunmer woman sitting across from him. "Good to see you awake, Fluffy," she said. "I was afraid that I used too much and accidentally killed you. Poisons are a tough thing to get right . . . anyway I should probably fill you in on what's going on." Ugdulub looked around, not listening to the elf babble. Wuuthrad was gone and he was no longer in his Wolf Armor. Now he was wearing Stormcloak armor. Had the girl changed him? "And that's why you're going to help me kill Ulfric."

"Wait, what?"

"You really should pay more attention when people are talking to you," the Dark Elf said. "Now we are almost at Windhelm and you don't even know my name! It's Reysi by the way." She was right, Ugdulub saw the stone city and lengthy bridge approaching them.

"I'm not helping you kill someone! Where is Wuuthrad?!"

"You won't have to do any killing . . . probably. You just have to get me out of here alive. My last high-profile job in a city did not turn out so well, so now I have some insurance." The carriage pulled around the stables and the Elf hopped off. "You and I already have our covers, now we just get in there."

"No."

"Do you want your stuff back?"

"Fine."

Ugdulub followed Reysi as she skipped into the ancient city. The darkness did not leave the city even in the late morning sun. Ugdulub noticed some Nords, too drunk this early even for Nords, harassing some Dark Elf woman. Reysi lead him deep into the city, pausing before their destination, the massive castle, the Palace of Kings. Once inside, Reysi hopped up to a large man who wore a bear skin over his head and exchanged a few words. They both glanced at Ugdulub before the man pointed them into a deeper room. Reysi lead Ugdulub through narrow hallways as they approached her target. Reysi barged into the room at the end of the hallway, a master bedroom. Inside Ulfric Stormcloak was getting dressed as Reysi ran towards him, something black flashing in her hand. Crimson sprayed from Ulfric's chest as Reysi turned and pointed at Ugdulub.

"Get me out of here before the guards catch on," she whispered. Ugdulub turned to find a guard watching, his blade drawn. Ugdulub shouted, punching the guard in the chest and sending him flying down the narrow hallway. Another guard say this and raised an alarm. "You are officially worse than Govegein at hiding from guards." Ugdulub wondered how Govegein knew this assassin briefly before he felt the change come onto him. He filled the hallway with his new bulk and barely noticed someone jump onto his back before he barreled through oncoming guards. As he left the Palace of Kings, Ugdulub noticed shouts about a ripper or something. He paid no attention as he charted out a path onto the rooftops and out of the stone city.

Adrenaline rushed as he scaled walls with his clawed hands and jumped into the ice cold water far below the city. Ugdulub heard laughter as he dragged himself onto the shore. Looking around he saw guards rallying across the bridge. Ugdulub shook what water he could off of himself before sprinting towards the hot steppes south of Windhelm. He did not stop his sprint until he made it back to the tower where he first met Reysi. There he met and killed a Sabercat before eating it and replenishing his stamina. The Dark Elf laughed again from atop Ugdulub's back. Ugdulub growled in response. "Don't worry," Reysi said, "Your things are back in Whiterun, in the cave that I kidnapped you from." Ugdulub shook his head before returning to his sprint.

Less than an hour later, Ugdulub has again fully clothed and reunited with Wuuthrad. He looked at the Dark Elf who attempted to leave. He grabbed her by the shoulder, "No, you are going to explain what happened to the Jarl, and I am taking you there."

* * *

**So, yeah, not as short as I feared. Plus you finally get to see a little more on what happened in my attempt at skipping the war negotiations in the Warlord and the Dragonborn.**

**So as we hit the final stretch in the story, I want to ask any of you readers about your experience with it. Did you like it? Did you hate it? If you could change anything would you? Feel free to leave me those answers in any way you want, like scrawled in blood on the floor or written in the sky by a bunch of trained pigeons. Or you could just leave a review . . . that works too . . . I guess.**


	13. The Tomb of Ysgramor

**So, after that . . . debacle, the story is fairly well known. I, among others, assisted the Dragonborn in capturing the dragon Odahviing. A tale still sung of to this day. Following that fight I was free to continue on with my quest to cleanse Kodlak's soul.**

Chapter 12 – The Tomb of Ysgramor

Ugdulub shivered as he pulled his armor back on, he had just finished a sprint from Whiterun to the northern coast, west of Dawnstar, in beast form. Now he was only a short swim from where Ysgramor's fabled tomb was said to be, and from where the rest of the Inner Circle waited for him. He could almost hear their irksome jokes now about where he was or how he could let himself be swept up with that little elf. He began to think up comebacks as he dipped into the freezing water. The island he was looking for was not far north of him, and on the coast waited an impatient Aela.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to meet us here two days ago!" she shouted at him when she spotted the green man swimming towards her. The sudden sound spooked some horkers awake and off of their small islands.

Ugdulub shook as he pulled himself ashore, wishing for the heat of a forge. "For your information I was kidnapped, coerced into assisting Regicide, and then took part in the capture of a dragon." He stared down Aela, who looked particularly stunned by his response. "That third part had little to do with the other two," Ugdulub added.

"After you disappeared, we assumed you had come here ahead of us," Aela responded.

"And when you found out I wasn't here? You didn't assume that something was wrong."

"You're a big Orc now, you can take care of yourself."

Ugdulub decided now was the appropriate time to tell Aela that her next target for a challenge was no longer feasible. "Govegein's dead, let's go inside now."

"Wait what?" Aela asked as Ugdulub pushed past her.

Inside the tomb was rather cramped, especially with four people inside it. The center of the room was a shrine to Ysgramor with several offerings placed at the foot of a statue of the hero himself. The statue was posed like it was holding a weapon, but there was nothing in its hands. Vilkas turned to Ugdulub as he entered.

"There you are," he said. "I wanted to wish you luck before you enter the tomb."

"You're not coming with us?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since we found out about the pyre in the tomb. After contemplating my actions, and some interesting conversations with one of the witches, I don't believe that I am worthy to enter the tomb just yet. I lost my temper with Kodlak's death, broke my vow not to use the beast form. I don't deserve to be free of this, not yet."

"If that is truly how you feel, I won't force you to come with us," Ugdulub replied, "Not that I could force you." Vilkas simply smiled and nodded, letting Ugdulub pass.

Now Farkas stood before him, holding a large sac. "You left these with me," he said shaking the sac. Four distinct shouts and groans sounded from the bag as he jostled the contents.

"Hey, you big lug, how many times do we have to tell you to be more gentle! The Child of Malacath was much more careful in his transportation of us!"

"Well at least this one doesn't stink as bad."

"Yeah, but not by much."

"In fact, I think I smell him now . . . Child of Malacath? Is that you?"

"I am so sorry for whatever they put you through, Farkas," Ugdulub said. "Feel free to burn whichever head you want."

"I'll be burning the spider one, but you're carrying them the rest of the way," Farkas replied, pushing the bag into Ugdulub's arms.

"Of course," Ugdulub said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Ugdulub took Wuuthrad off of his back as he approached the statue. When he reached it, he placed the battel axe into the ancient stone hands. As the reforged weapon fell into place, the far wall of the room opened into a doorway. Ugdulub retrieved the weapon from the statue, thankfully the wall did not close, and proceeded with Farkas and Aela.

Ugdulub was not sure what he was expecting when he walked down the stone steps. What kind of place would he be entering? What kind of trials did Ysgramor's 500 Companions have in store for them? Truthfully, he did not expect to have to fight the first Companions themselves. The spirits of the warriors stepped out of their tombs as their modern counterparts approached. When he cut through one of them, it felt like an actual body he was cutting. The severed parts dissolved into a blue mist before they even hit the ground. Aela and Farkas picked up on this fact and proceeded to attack other spirits as they approached.

As Ugdulub fought, he began to feel a familiar clarity. Everything just seemed to fit together as his body moved through the battle. He could see every action, every reaction, before they happened. Part of him remembered the dreams from what seemed so long ago, back when he joined the companions. He remembered, in detail, what happened and it changed his view on everything Skjor and Aela said about the beast blood.

* * *

It was cloudy. Or at least Ugdulub thought those were clouds. Now that he thought about it, he was surrounded by these dark clouds. Was he falling? It didn't feel like it. Looking around, he noticed a light far off in the distance. He felt drawn to it, somewhere out of these oppressive clouds. Before he could even think about how to approach it, it was blocked by something massive. "YOU DARE TO SIDE WITH THOSE MUTTS?!" it boomed. He was thrown away by the voice, out of the dream.

Ugdulub was floating again in those dark clouds and he could see the light again. It was bigger this time, or was he closer? Again the light was obscured and again the voice boomed at him, "AFTER ALL THAT I HAVE GIVEN TO YOU, ALL THAT I HAVE DONE SO THAT YOU COULD PROSPER, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?" And again, Ugdulub was forced away.

Ugdulub watched the clouds swirl around him as he searched for the light. When he found it, he realized that it was so close this time, but he was barred from approaching it by the one who had stopped him on his last two visits. "And yet . . . you still have the audacity to return . . . LEAVE!"

Light this time. Ugdulub lay in a small patch of grass and he looked up at a wooden table. Sitting at the table was a man who looked shockingly like an Altmer, though he was built more like an orc. "How long do plan on lying there?" he asked.

"S-sorry," Ugdulub said as he picked himself up. "Where am I?"

"In the last patch of sunlight on a dismal plane of death and destruction." There was food on the table, but the man did not seem like he had eaten any of it. Behind the man grew a large tree, he sat in its shadow and he watched Ugdulub's every move with green-golden eyes.

Looking around, Ugdulub saw ash clouds raging around the patch of paradise. "We're in the Ashpit. Then, you're Mal-"

The man held up a hand, stopping Ugdulub. "Trinimac," he said, "My name is Trinimac. At least, I can return to it while here. Alas I did not bring you here to talk about me, and we have little time before your father takes control again."

"My father?"

"Yes, I convinced him that a mortal heir could prove entertaining so he picked a random clan and impersonated its Chieftain for a night," Trinimac waved his hand dismissively. "He is proud of you by the way, despite your choice in friends. Though to regain his trust, you would need to do something grand." Ugdulub noticed the ash clouds closing in on them. "For now, I want to tell you to follow your instincts in your choices," Trinimac continued. The ash blew over Ugdulub and before it snuffed out Trinimac's light, he added, voice changing, "and be wary of deals with daedra, we _never_ tell the whole truth."

* * *

It was no mere slur when the Glenmori witches called him 'Child of Malacath' it seemed. The remembered dreams were a comfort to Ugdulub, he realized as he Farkas and Aela moved through the tomb. He knew from the dead god's words that he was no Daedra, that Malacath had to take over a mortal form, his father, that night, but it left Ugdulub with a hunger for power. He also knew that the beast blood, while it had been helpful, had twisted him and stolen his birthright, which he could only get back by appeasing Malacath.

The trio of warriors had just finished clearing out a water filled room and were about to proceed when Farkas stopped them. "I think this is as far as I can go," he said, staring past Ugdulub and Aela.

Ugdulub turned to see the thick webbing covering the doorway, "Understood, wait with Vilkas at the entrance."

"Wait, why are you just letting him go?" Aela asked.

"It's the spiders," Farkas replied, looking down. This was obviously a secret he held close for a while. "Ever since Dustman's Cairn, I haven't been able to handle the beasts. Think I heard some priest call it acarnofaria or something."

Aela scoffed as she cut down the webs and went to work on the spiders beyond them. Farkas retraced their steps back to his brother and Ugdulub watched for a little before joining Aela. "So that's why he chose me to burn," one of the witch heads muttered.

After clearing out the spider nest, this one substantially larger than the one in Dustman's Cairn, Ugdulub and Aela found themselves in a more standard Nordic burial room. Resting places lined the walls and the blue ghosts rose from their corpses before taking form. Aela covered Ugdulub as he worked through the ethereal Companions of old. After a while, they found a large chamber with a stone brazier in the center of the room. In the brazier burned a blue fire. Another ghost stood opposite them, warming his hands on the fire.

"Kodlak!" Ugdulub shouted when he recognized the old man.

"Ugdulub? And here I thought I would only be seeing the Harbingers of old!" Kodlak moved away from the fire to meet the two Companions.

"What do you mean 'the Harbingers of old'? You're the only one in here," Aela asked.

"That is because the two of you only know me as your Harbinger. I'd bet Vignar could see many of them. Me? I see them all." For someone in his situation, Kodlak seemed to be almost happy about where he was.

"Kodlak, I brought them, the Glenmori heads. If we burn one here, we could free you from Hircine's grip!" Ugdulub said.

Kodlak's eyes shot towards the bag slung over the Orc's shoulder. "Well what are you waiting for? Once I am free of the beast, I will travel to Sovngarde and rally the heroes to free the other Harbingers."

Ugdulub smiled and pulled out the heads, placing them on an altar behind the brazier. "Oh, I am going to want a front seat for this," the furry one said as he placed her down.

"I will take the dead man's wolf," the mud covered head said. "We came to a decision on who for who while we waited for you."

"Then, who's for me?" Ugdulub asked.

"I am," the feathered head replied. "You're wolf is tainted and will be difficult to dispel, but my magic should make it easier on you." She winked and Ugdulub could not help but wonder what she meant. He picked up the muddy head and carried it towards the pyre. Kodlak watched expectantly ad Ugdulub threw the head into the blue fire. When the head caught fire, however, he doubled over in pain. His scream turned into a howl as a red spectral wolf tore out of his body. "Kill it!" the feathered head shouted before the wolf lunged at Ugdulub. As the beast flew, Ugdulub rolled back, grabbing Kodlak's wolf by its paws and throwing it head over tail. The beast crashed into the wall and dissolved into a red mist.

"I thought my wolf would be a little tougher," Kodlak said.

"What do you expect, you starved the poor thing," Aela shot at him.

"We're not done yet," Ugdulub said as he walked back up to the altar. The ravenesque head smiled as he picked it up. "I hope this works like you think it will," he said before throwing it into the pyre. The pain was almost unbearable, worse than his first transformation. He felt the wolf being torn out of him as he screamed.

Dazed, Ugdulub turned to see what he made. It was massive and stood on two legs, this green specter was scarred all over its body. It snarled and swatted Ugdulub away, sending him flying into a wall. Kodlak drew his sword and charged the beast as Aela drew its attention with her arrows. Ugdulub picked himself up and joined the fray with Wuuthrad, cutting at the beast's legs trying to topple it. The beast roared and a shockwave emanated from it, nocking back Kodlak and Ugdulub. Regrouping, Kodlak circled behind the beast while Ugdulub tore into its chest with Wuuthrad. Ugdulub couldn't help but think that a hammer would have worked better against this enemy. Arrows flew into the beast's eyes and an ethereal sword tore its back open. It stumbled forward, and by the time that it had recovered enough to see all the beast saw was Wuuthrad's blade before its skull was cleaved through.

Kodlak huffed, "You fight well Ugdulub. I have no regrets in naming you my successor. Treat them well, Harbinger."

Ugdulub would have laughed, but it kind of hurt to breathe, "I will, Harbinger." Kodlak smiled before fading away.

"I guess, if you are Harbinger, you should decide what we should do with those," Aela said, gesturing to the two remaining Glenmori heads. The furry head rocked itself back and forth while the arachnid head muttered to itself.

"We can let the twins have them," Ugdulub said. "I'm sure they won't mind since we had to do this without them."

* * *

**Doesn't quite feel done does it? Well technically it isn't, in this world o' mine Ugdulub had a great many more adventures, but this is only how his epic tale began. Who knows, maybe you'll see more of him somewhere in the future. Maybe not. You never know, and you know even less with me.**

**Also, Dragonpriests is going on hiatus.**

**Also, VOLENDRUUUUUUUUUUUNG!**


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

"But what about the time you fought those giants?" Mazlakh asked.

"Or the time with the vampire army?" Yadbzol added.

"Calm down kids," I said, "You didn't even ask for this story." My two firstborn had overheard my tale at one point and decided to join the session. Up until now, they seemed uninterested in my stories, I keep telling them that it's different than what their uncle told them. "If I remember correctly, last night when I offered to tell you those stories you told me they were boring."

"Well, after hearing that telling I'm not surprised your sons are suddenly interested in their father, Harbinger," my guest said. He was a fairly new storyteller himself, and he came to me for some firsthand tales from the companions. Truth be told, I'm not even sure this man told me his name.

"Truth be told, those aren't even my most amazing adventures," I said.

"Yes," my guest replied, "I have heard about the incident at Volkihar. Although, what might interest me more s how you got your hands on that hammer." He gestured to the weapon in question, it hung, ready for battle, above the fireplace in my longhouse. Volendrung glowed with its blood red aura, ever watching over the longhouse.

"That, my friend, is a tale for another day. It is late and I have to, uh . . . meet with some . . . people."

"He says that when he is planning on clearing out a bandit camp with some Companions," Yabdzol said.

"And who told you that?" I asked.

"Uncle Beimiir," Mazlakh answered.

"I need to stop letting him tell you boys things."

"But that would be an injustice to the kids," Beimiir said.

I nearly jumped out of my seat. "When did you even get here?!"

"I think it was when Farkas got attacked by a bunch of spiders." That long ago? How did I mot notice him? "Hey, Raddin, we came in when Farkas got attacked by the spiders right?" Beimiir continued. The Dragonborn was here too? I turned to notice the Nord sitting across the room, scratching his chin.

"I'm trying to remember if we met Kodlak in Sovngarde," he replied brushing off the question.

"Yes, Tar'zuk remembers clearly," a raspy voice said from behind me. I turned to see the black Khajit warming his hands by the fire. "You two were rather loud."

"What did I tell you about being behind me Tar'zuk?" I nearly shouted. I don't know how he even got into the stronghold. But then again this is Tar'zuk we're talking about, no one ever knows anything.

"To not steal your clothes off of your back!" Reysi shouted. The vampire appeared beside the Khajiit, dropping an invisibility spell. At least that explained how she got in.

"You do keep some interesting company," the bard said as he wrote more notes into his journal. "This will make for quite the interesting tale, even more so if I could get you're stories." Almost instantaneously, Beimiir and Tar'zuk left, Beimiir literally walked through the wall while Tar'zuk jumped out a window. "I guess they don't like talking about themselves. No matter, I can get the information another way."

"OOOOH! OOOOH!" Reysi shouted. "My story starts during the chimer war where Dunmer were cursed. And if you dig into anyone's stories too far I will eat your stomach!" The Dark elf happily scampered off after saying that, probably to follow Beimiir. Though he would never admit it, the Breton definitely liked having Reysi around.

"She will do it too," I warned. "Raddin, could you get these kids to bed?" I asked pointing towards the twins. "You and I should talk a little more," I said to my guest.

"That dark elf . . . was she the one who killed Ulfric?" I nodded. "I see, I'll be sure to leave that part out of the story when I write it. I am curious as to just who your friends are, what they've done."

"Curiosity killed the Khajit," I warned. "These guys have done things that they would not want written about. Most of the things they've done would get them thrown in jail if anyone knew it was them. Then there is Beimiir. He's not keen on anyone knowing just what he did before the Dragons returned. Even I don't know for sure what it was and I'm one of the few people he actually contacts these days." I walked the writer out of my longhouse, escorting him to the stronghold's gate. "Though, if you really had to, I'm sure you could get some info on Tar'zuk in Riften."

"Thank you for the warning, but I'm sure I can handle myself. Truth be told, I'm actually surprised old Beimiir didn't seem to recognize me. Though not as surprised as I am that you didn't notice any of them join in on the story telling."

"What can I say? I was a little preoccupied with my sons. By the way, I don't believe you've actually told me your name."

"I don't believe I did," my guest said as we reached the main gate. "But, don't worry, I'll send you a copy of the book once I finish it. Though, I think I'll be adding some more stories to yours." And with that the bard left the stronghold to find another tale for his book.

A courier came at least a year later and gave me a book titled 'Warlord: Tales of the Return of the Dragons'. It held everything that Raddin and Beimiir had done during the Alduin incident, the Volkihar incident, even Raddin's escapades on Solsthiem between the two. After those tales were stories from Reysi, Tar'zuk, someone named Ardana, and myself. The book's author seemed to be unnamed. Where there should be a name was only dots and lines. I asked Raddin about this the next time I saw him and he only said, "Krosis."

* * *

**Thank you all for reading my story. I hope that you enjoyed reading it even more than i did writing it. If you want, leave some thoughts down in the review area. If not, go read someone else's story and hope that it is better than this one. Not to be vain, just always hope to find a better story. Okay, I've kept you long enough, just go do the thing. **


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